Medical Emergency Preparedness in Dental Clinic among Dentists in Benin City

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of preparedness for medical emergencies amongst dental resident doctors and house officers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out amongst all dental resident doctors and house officers in both Central Hospital and  University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin City between November, 2017 and October, 2018. Data collection tool was a pre-tested 21- item self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited demographic characteristics, experiences with medical emergencies in dental clinic, perceived occurrence of medical emergencies medical emergency preparedness in dental clinic and their capabilities in the  management. All data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20.0.

Results: A total of 80 questionnaires were distributed but only 71 of them were returned filled giving 88.8% response rate. In this study,  70.4% (50) showed that they have experienced medical emergencies in the dental clinic but only 31% (22) of the participants had same  experience within the last 12 months. The majority of the medical emergency experienced was fainting (syncope) which represented  66.0% (49). 64.0% (32) showed that they played the role of assistance as against 26.0% (13) who attempted resuscitation while others 10%  (5) showed that they observed. Only 8.5% (6) of the participants reported that they were very prepared in managing medical emergencies  in dental clinic. Correct knowledge and improper sequence was highest for hypoglycemia (42.3%) followed asthma (15.5%),  seizure (11.3%) and syncope (9.9%). The subjective assessment revealed that only 8.5% (6) of the respondents were very prepared to  handle medical emergencies in the dental clinics. In an objective test of the respondents’ knowledge on the management of some medical emergencies, the result showed that majority of the respondents had incomplete knowledge in the management of syncope  (56.3%), seizure (49.3%) and asthmatic attack (39.4%). Correct knowledge and proper sequencing of the order of action was however  highest in for hypoglycaemia (42.3%). The correct and proper sequence for syncope, seizures and asthmatic attacks was 9.9%, 11.3% and  15.5% respectively. 

Conclusion: Data from this study revealed that majority of the dentists have witnessed medical emergencies in the  dental clinic but were not prepared for the management.