The knowledge and awareness of medical emergencies and management among dental students

Abstract

Background: Every dentist should anticipate being confronted with a medical emergency (ME), and one should always be ready to treat the most catastrophic ones. Aim: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of dental clinical students of Tamil Nadu in the ME understanding and management to create awareness toward patient care. Methodology: A total of 768 dental students, including final-year students and residents from different colleges, took part in the questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The selection of study participants was by the convenience sampling method. The questionnaire contained thirty closed multiple-choice questions to assess their knowledge of MEs. Microsoft Office Excel software was used for compiling the answers. The descriptive analysis of the data is exhibited in graphs. Results: The majority of participants were mindful of the vital signs; only 55% of the participants know the importance of checking their respiration rate. The knowledge of identifying MEs such as anaphylaxis was 91%, and only 27%-37% of the respondents knew to identify angina, transient ischemia, and lidocaine toxicity. Approximately 15%-40% of the respondents only knew the management of angina, cardiac arrest, hyperventilation, respiratory obstruction, and seizure. Only 10% agreed that the best office emergency kit should be prepared by themselves. Roughly 78% of the respondents were conscious of the patient's referral whenever necessary and aware of state dental acts. Conclusion: This study reflects a significant need for training in executing ME among dental students who are to transmute into future dental professionals.