Evaluation of preparedness for medical emergencies at dental offices: A survey

BACKGROUND: The best way to handle an emergency is to be prepared in advance. The purpose of this study was to assess the availability of medical emergency drugs at dental offices and to determine the level of knowledge and preparedness of dentists to manage medical emergencies at their dental offices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2014 with 250 dental graduates to determine their knowledge and ability in the management of medical emergencies and assess availability of emergency drugs and equipments in dental offices in the Ahmedabad and Udaipur areas of India. The questionnaire consisted of mainly objective questions, requiring a simple yes or no reply. Mann–Whitney test was used for the analysis. A 95% confidence level was used and a P value of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The results of our study showed that almost all the surveyed dentists (98%) enquired about medical history, but only 12% obtained filled health history proforma from patients regarding the above. Only 38.4% participants recorded the vital signs of patients before commencing any treatment. Also, 7.6% reported about having attended any workshops on emergency training or management programs. Emergency kits were available with only 24% participants and the available kits were assessed for the availability of emergency drugs. Also, 34% were confident about giving intramuscular injection and only 6.6% were sure about giving intravenous injections. The P value was found to be highly statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The results of our study reflect an alarming situation about the capability of dentists to deal with such conditions.