Knowledge of sepsis risk and management among dental professionals in Wales: a service evaluation

• Published in: British dental journal
• Main Authors: Woolley, Stephen, Allen, Mick, Medeiros Mirra, Renata
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 18.09.2020
• Subjects: Dentistry
• ISSN: 0007-0610; 1476-5373
• DOI: 10.1038/s41415-020-2022-8

Aims Sepsis is a significant medical condition. This service evaluation aimed to investigate the current level of knowledge, confidence and educational requirements regarding sepsis among dental professionals in Wales.Design A convenience-sampled, self-administered electronic questionnaire.Setting All chairside dental professionals registered with Health Education and Improvement Wales, all Local Dental Committees, district general hospitals, Cardiff University Dental Hospital and Community Dental Services throughout Wales.Materials and methods A questionnaire was distributed electronically to an estimated 3,716 dental professionals working in Wales in late 2019. Responses were descriptively and statistically analysed.Results In total, 357 responses were received (9.6%), which achieves a 95% confidence interval (CI) with a 5% margin of error. The majority of respondents reported lack of knowledge or confidence in sepsis recognition and management. Approximately two-fifths of respondents did not access equipment to measure oximetry, temperature or blood pressure. More than three-quarters of respondents had not been trained in sepsis recognition and management. The majority of respondents requested online/distance training (42%), local/national conferences (27%) and local study days (16%) as postgraduate educational format.Conclusion There is a clear need for postgraduate education for dental teams regarding the identification and management of individuals with potential sepsis in Wales.Introduction.