طبيعة الحالات الإسعافية المشاهدة في عيادات دمشق لطب الأسنان و نسبتها

Abstract EN

Background & Objective: Medical emergencies could occur during the practice of dentistry.

A dentist must be prepared to recognize and manage of any potential emergency situation.

The purposes of the study were to determine the occurrence of medical emergencies in Damascus dental clinics, and to assess the way patients' medical history is taken.

Methods & Materials: A cross-sectional study was performed using a questionnaire regarding medical emergencies, which was sent to 170 randomly selected dentists in Damascus in March 2012.

The questionnaire had been prepared based on valid references.

The data were analyzed and compared using chi-square test correlation test through SPSS software.

Results: The response rate was 98.2%.

The statistical study was performed on 160 complete questionnaires.

Only 11.3% of dentists use a specially designed medical questionnaire to take the patient's medical history.

A statistical significant relationship was found between the way of taking the medical history and whether the doctor was GP or specialist (P=0.002).

The most common medical emergencies was syncope and postural hypotension (75%).

The relation between the occurrence of medical emergencies and whether the doctor was GP, non-surgical or surgical specialist was statistically significant (P = 0.038).

Conclusions: The occurrence of medical emergencies is not rare.

The dentists should be encouraged to use a specially designed questionnaire to take the medical history of the patients.