Emergency response team activation in the outpatient clinic of a single dental teaching hospital in Korea: a retrospective study of 10 years' records

BACKGROUND: To prepare for possible emergency situations during dental treatment, it is helpful to know how often and what kinds of emergencies may arise. This study set out to evaluate the incidences, causes, treatments, and outcomes of emergency situations in the outpatient clinic of a dental teaching hospital in Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who had experienced an emergency situation and emergency response team activated in a selected outpatient clinic between November 2004 and November 2013. Specific information about the emergency cases was collected, including the patient characteristics and the frequency, types, treatments, and outcomes of the emergency situations. RESULTS: We identified 35 instances of emergency situations in 2,890,424 patients (incidence = 0.012 per 10,000 outpatients). The number of cases was as follows: 10 (28.6%) in the Department of Periodontics, 10 (28.6%) in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 6 (17.1%) in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, 4 (11.4%) in the Department of Prosthodontics, 2 (5.7%) in the Department of Conservative Dentistry, 2 (5.7%) in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and 1 (2.9%) in the Department of Orthodontics. Three (8.6%) of the emergency situations arose before treatment, 22 (62.9%) during treatment, 7 (20.0%) after treatment, and 2 (5.7%) in a patient's guardian. CONCLUSIONS: In accordance with the growing elderly population and more aggressive dental procedures, the number of emergency situations may increase in the future. We recommend that clinicians keep in mind airway management and the active control of emergency situations.