Knowledge, Attitudes and Performance of Iranian Endodontists to Patients with Kidney Diseases

OBJECTIVE: The high prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the community, especially in older patients, makes their management an important aspect of clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge attitudes and performance of Iranian endodontists regarding patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study involved 100 Iranian endodontists (41 M, 59 F), who completed questionnaires with 21 items on CKD. Responses were analyzed by SPSS, using Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. RESULTS: Overall levels of knowledge were rated as optimal in 55% of subjects, while attitudes to care were favourable in 83%. This cohort of specialist clinicians had strong scores for optimal attitude and performance. Awareness of issues around prescribed analgesics, antibiotic cover, bleeding risk and hypertension was high. Proximity to specialist training (younger specialists, and less years in practice) and female gender were associated with significantly higher scores across the three domains measured. CONCLUSION: Most specialists were aware of requirements for safe care of dental patients with CKD. Continuing professional education should target older clinicians who may have had less exposure to formal training in this topic during their clinical training.