Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescription for Prophylactic Purposes among Italian Dental Practitioners: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the pattern of antibiotic prescription for prophylaxis purposes among Italian DPs (dental practitioners). A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted using a multi-stage sampling design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antibiotics (Basel) 2021-05, Vol.10 (5), p.547
Main Authors: Bianco, Aida, Cautela, Vincenza, Napolitano, Francesco, Licata, Francesca, Pavia, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
antibiotic prescription
Antibiotics
antimicrobial resistance
Best practice
Bone grafts
Consent
Cross-sectional studies
Data collection
Dental care
Dental implants
Dental prosthetics
dentistry
Disease prevention
Drug dosages
Guidelines
Hypothesis testing
Indication
Infections
Injuries
Italy
Prophylaxis
Prostheses
Questionnaires
Sample size
Sampling designs
Soft tissues
Statistical analysis
Substitute bone
Teeth
Trauma
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The primary objective of this study was to investigate the pattern of antibiotic prescription for prophylaxis purposes among Italian DPs (dental practitioners). A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted using a multi-stage sampling design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and information about antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) prescriptions for selected dental diagnoses and surgical procedures. The presence of an indication and appropriateness of AP were defined according to international guidelines. In total, 563 DPs answered the questionnaire (response rate 52.6%). The proportions of DPs who prescribed AP in the presence of an indication ranged from 39.1% for luxation injury with soft tissue trauma to 73.1% for dental implants, whilst DPs who prescribed AP in healthy patients ranged from 41.9% in luxation injury with soft tissue trauma to 70.3% for bone grafting. The course of AP reported by DPs was not consistent with the guidelines in 70.9% of explored procedures. A high proportion of AP prescriptions before dental procedures were unnecessary. This highlights the urgent need to incorporate recommendations for best practices into national and local protocols as soon as they are established. Specific antibiotic stewardship strategies targeted to DPs should be implemented and assessed for effectiveness in improving prescribing of antibiotics.
ISSN:2079-6382
2079-6382
DOI:10.3390/antibiotics10050547