Bleeding risk in patients using oral anticoagulants submitted to surgical procedures in dentistry: a systematic review protocol

Assessment of drug-prescribing perception and practice among dental care providers: a cross-sectional Lebanese study

Background:

Dentists play an essential role in providing high-quality dental care, taking into consideration the clinical context and concomitant medications taken by the patients.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess drug-prescribing perception and practices in addition to drug-related educational needs among Lebanese dentists; it also evaluated the need for interprofessional collaboration between dentists and pharmacists.

Methods:

An exploratory cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire targeted a sample of dentists from all Lebanese districts. Participants gave their consent by accepting to complete the survey (ethics approval reference: USJ-2016-63). The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended questions exploring: 1) drug-prescribing perception, 2) drug-prescribing practice, and 3) collaboration with pharmacists regarding their respective roles in providing appropriate counseling to patients. Two indexes were created: the first evaluated self-confidence in prescribing medications, and the second assessed dentists’ confidence in pharmacists. Logistic regressions were performed, taking each index as a dependent variable.

Results

A total of 137 dentists completed the survey (59% females; mean age: 42.17; SD: 13.78 years). The majority had a fair to good perceived knowledge in pharmacology and therapeutics (80.3%), only 30.7% reported to be sufficiently equipped to prescribe safely. Dentists exhibited particularly low perceived knowledge about prescribing in elderly patients, dosing, medication use in pregnancy, drug interactions, and adverse reactions. Dentists specialized in periodontics had the lowest odds of having self-confidence in prescribing drugs (aOR=0.25; p<0.001). Also, 64.3% declared that they routinely check a reference source before prescribing, and 78% relied on pharmaceutical companies and medical representatives to get information on medications. While 61% declared that pharmacists should provide oral care counseling, only half of them encouraged their patients to talk to their pharmacists about their medications. Only 15% considered that patients are getting enough counseling from the pharmacist, with a global confidence index below the median value, suggesting the need for more collaboration, especially with periodontists who exhibited the lowest confidence in pharmacists (aOR=0.45).

Conclusions

Lebanese dentists reported some lack of knowledge and confidence in prescribing practices. Education, training, and close collaboration between pharmacists and dentists are essential to overcome these problems and avoid potential harm to patients.

Bleeding Risk in Patients Using Oral Anticoagulants Undergoing Surgical Procedures in Dentistry: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The management of patients who undergo dental surgical procedures and receive oral anticoagulant therapy requires particular attention due to the risk of bleeding that may occur during the procedure. Bleeding rates in these trans- or post-operative patients tend to be unpredictable. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review in order to assess the risk of bleeding during and after performing oral surgery in patients administered oral anticoagulants compared with a group that discontinued anticoagulant therapy. For the purposes of this review, we searched the databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), and the Virtual Health Library (VHL) from inception of the database to December 2018. The primary outcome was defined as the occurrence of local bleeding during and after oral surgical procedures. Four reviewers, independently and in pairs, screened titles and abstracts for full-text eligibility. Data regarding participant characteristics, interventions, and design and outcomes of the included studies were extracted. The data were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses and described as risk ratios (RRs) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The confidence for the pooled estimates was ascertained through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, and the protocol of this review was recorded in PROSPERO (CRD42017056986). A total of 58 eligible studies were identified, of which three randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis, covering a total of 323 adult participants, among whom 167 were taking anticoagulants at the time they underwent dental surgery. Of these patients, 14.2% had reported bleeding. The risk of bleeding was found to be one to almost three times greater in patients taking warfarin compared with patients who discontinued the use of anticoagulant during the trans-operative period (RR = 1.67, 95% CI = 0.97 to 2.89) and in the post-operative period (RR = 1.44, 95% CI = 0.71 to 2.92), although the quality of evidence was very low. The results indicate that there is no evidence that the use of anticoagulants eliminates the risk of bleeding during surgical dental procedures.

Evaluation of the Bleeding Intensity of Patients Anticoagulated with Warfarin or Dabigatran Undergoing Dental Procedures

Background

Thrombotic disorders remain one of the leading causes of death in the Western world. Dabigatran appeared as an alternative to warfarin for anticoagulation in the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The risk associated with bleeding due to its use has been documented in several randomized clinical trials, but no large study has examined in detail the risk of bleeding during dental extraction and other dental procedures involving bleeding.

Objective

To compare the intensity of bleeding in individuals taking dabigatran or vitamin K antagonist (warfarin) and undergoing dental procedures.

Methods

Prospective, single-center, controlled study with one single observer. Patients diagnosed with nonvalvular AF, on warfarin or dabigatran, cared for at a cardiology referral center, and requiring single or multiple dental extractions, were evaluated up to seven days post-extraction. The following outcomes were assessed: bleeding time between the beginning and the end of suture and complete hemostasis; bleeding before the procedure, after 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days, during and after suture removal (late); p<0.05 was defined as of statistical relevance.

Results

We evaluated 37 individuals, 25 in the warfarin group and 12 in the dabigatran group. Age, sex, weight, height, blood pressure, color, schooling, family income and comorbidities were similar between the two groups. Regarding bleeding after 24 hours of the procedure, no one in the dabigatran group had bleeding, whereas 32% in the warfarin group had documented bleeding (p = 0.028). The other variables analyzed did not differ between the groups.

Conclusions

This study suggests that, regarding dental extraction, there is no statistically significant difference in the intensity of bleeding of patients taking dabigatran as compared to those taking warfarin. Bleeding 24 hours after the procedure was less frequent among patients on dabigatran.