Prevalence of Medical Problems in Dental Out Patients in Karachi

• Main Authors: Mirza M, Anwar Ali, Naghma Azad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dow University of Health Sciences 2011-11-01
• Series: Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences
• Subjects: medically compromised patient; dental treatment; emergency management
• Online Access: http://www.jduhs.com/index.php/jduhs/article/view/48
• ISSN: 1995-2198; 2410-2180

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of patients suffering from medical conditions who present at the dental hospital seeking treatment for their dental problems and to explore the association of gender with medically compromised dental patients. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study. The records of a total of 3087 patients reporting at the outpatient of Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan Institute of Oral Health Sciences from 1st January to 31st March 2011 were reviewed for the presence of medically compromised conditions. Medically compromised conditions were categorized into eight modalities like cardiovascular diseases, asthma, anemia, liver diseases, endocrine disorders, renal diseases, epilepsy and infectious diseases. Results: Out of 3087 patients; 426 (13.7%) patients were suffering from different medical conditions. The age range of the recorded patients was 1-90 years with a mean age of 34.14 (S.D ± 16.07 Years). One hundred and eight (43%) males and 246 (57%) females were attending the OPD (DIKIOHS) making male to female ratio 1- 1.36. Among them cardiovascular diseases 387 (90.81%) were the most prevalent, followed by endocrine disorder 188 (44.13%), liver disease 49 (11.50%), renal diseases 81 (19.01%), anemia 77(18.07%), asthma 75 (17.62%), infections 43 (10.09%), and epilepsy 16 (3.75%). Conclusion: Despite the fact that prevalence of medically compromised conditions in dental patients is not high, dentists should go through history form and perform careful clinical examination before starting any dental treatment. We recommend that dental students must be trained adequately to deal with medically compromised patients and be also able to deal with medical emergencies.