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Practices and Perceptions of Doctors for Patients on Anti-platelets During Dental Surgery: A National Survey

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Abstract

Purpose

Marked variations are noticed in the practices about anti-platelet therapy during dental surgery due to fear of thrombotic events versus bleeding. The main aim of this survey was to study the prevalent practices and perceptions amongst dentists, physicians and cardiologists for stopping anti-platelet agents (APA) in patients undergoing dental extractions.

Materials and Methods

A questionnaire consisting of 5 questions was distributed to 800 doctors. Questions were related to their perception about increased bleeding complications versus thrombotic risks in cardiac patient on anti-platelet agents undergoing dental surgery. The data was analyzed using Chi-square test and Z-test.

Results

Total number of responders was 428 from a total of 800 doctors. It consisted of two groups, group I (325) included physicians and group II (103) included dentists. 82.5 % of dentists believed that bleeding increased if APA are continued whereas 42.77 % of physicians felt the opposite (p = 0.0000035). When asked about stopping APA in patients of stable angina and stroke, both groups had similar answers (63.1 vs. 60.92 %). For patients with medicated stents 70.76 % of physicians were not in favor of stopping APA but 49.51 % dentists believed that it should be stopped (p = 0.0001). However, regarding their attitude towards stopping APA in patients with bare metal stents or post CABG, most of the doctors felt that it should be stopped (48.61 vs. 42.71 %). Discrepancy regarding the number of days for which APA should be withdrawn was found among both the groups.

Conclusion

Marked variation was found amongst participants in this survey despite international guidelines on APA being used during dental surgery. There is a need for national guidelines to be laid on this issue and dissemination of knowledge among the practicing doctors.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Anurag Chaudhary for interpretation and statistical analysis of data and Dr. Sameer Kaura for his immense support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dentistry, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, 141001, India

    Rita Rai, Vibha Babbar & Namita Dang

  2. Department of Cardiology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, India

    B. Mohan

Authors
  1. Rita Rai
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  2. B. Mohan
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  3. Vibha Babbar
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  4. Namita Dang
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Correspondence to Rita Rai.

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Rai, R., Mohan, B., Babbar, V. et al. Practices and Perceptions of Doctors for Patients on Anti-platelets During Dental Surgery: A National Survey. J. Maxillofac. Oral Surg. 13, 249–252 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12663-013-0523-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12663-013-0523-6

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