One year of COVID-19 in dental health services in Norway: psychological impact, risk perceptions and vaccination status

BACKGROUND

Increased psychological pressure on oral healthcare professionals (OHP) due to COVID-19 has been shown, yet little is known about the long-term psychological impacts. We aimed to study the psychological impact of COVID-19 and associated factors including perceived risk and preparedness and vaccination status among OHP in the first year after the lockdown period in Norway.

METHODS

A structured questionnaire sent electronically to dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants inquired experiences and perceptions during the second year following the outbreak in Norway. The questionnaire comprised a COVID-19 fear scale and questions about risk perception, preparedness and vaccination status. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to assess psychological impact, perception of risk and preparedness according to vaccination status of the respondents.

RESULTS

The majority of the 708 respondents were female (92.8%), had ten or more years of work experience (67.1%), and worked in public dental clinics (95.9%). Fears and concerns related to COVID-19 were common, 72.6% feared getting infected and 85.4% feared infecting others. Of the 642 respondents who agreed that their workplaces handled the situation well, 55.6% were fully vaccinated. Three factors were retrieved from EFA: Insecurity, Instability and Infection. SEM showed that females were more concerned with Infection, and respondents with long clinical experience were less likely to express fear about Instability. Fully vaccinated individuals felt more insecure about becoming infected, and those agreeing that their workplaces handled the current situation well were concerned with Insecurity.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite widespread perception of adequate preparedness and high vaccine coverage, a considerable psychological impact and high levels of fear of COVID-19 were observed among the majority of OHP. Fully vaccinated individuals had a larger psychological burden than not fully vaccinated and those with unknown vaccination status. These findings can inform means and interventions to reduce negative impacts of fear in populations with a high psychological burden.

Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental health personnel in Norway

BACKGROUND

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic put a pressure on all healthcare professionals and has affected the delivery of health care services globally. There is a need to understand the impact on different health care professionals in different countries. The aim of the present study was to explore the psychological impact of the pandemic among dental staff in Norway in relation to background characteristics, work situation and preparedness of the service.

METHODS

A structured questionnaire sent electronically to dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants inquired information about the lockdown period in Norway (13 March-17 April 2020). Distributions of background characteristics, perceptions of preparedness and psychological impact were calculated. Exploratory factor analysis was performed, and Structural Equation Models (SEMs) were used to compare psychological impact between dental professionals treating patients versus not during lockdown.

RESULTS

Among the 1237 respondents, 58.8% worked clinically with patients. The majority were concerned of becoming infected (71.9%), of infecting others (85.4%) and/or of their family becoming infected (76.9%). Respondents who treated patients felt significantly more insecure about whether having become infected or not. The minority felt discriminated (6.7%), worried about death (11.7%), felt that life was threatening (9.8%) or felt loss of control of their lives (8.9%). More than 80% agreed that their workplace handled the situation well. Four factors were retrieved from the factor analysis. SEMs showed that gender and work experience had a significant effect on the factors Instability, Infection and Concerns. Respondents with work experience ≥10 years were less likely to express fear about Instability and Infection. Personnel reporting that their workplace had adequate equipment were also less concerned, however having adequate equipment did not reduce the factor Loss of control.

CONCLUSION

The present study showed a considerable psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental personnel in Norway regardless of working clinically with patients or not. However, working with patients increased the insecurity about own infection status and of infecting people close to them. A safe working environment and adequate infection control measures are associated with less fear of infection and feeling of instability.

Characterization and toxicity evaluation of air-borne particles released by grinding from two dental resin composites in vitro

OBJECTIVE

The project aims to evaluate whether inhalation of particles released upon grinding of dental composites may pose a health hazard to dentists. The main objective of the study was to characterize the dust from polymer-based dental composites ground with different grain sized burs and investigate particle uptake and the potential cytotoxic effects in human bronchial cells.

METHODS

Polymerized blocks of two dental composites, Filtek™ Z250 and Filtek™ Z500 from 3M™ ESPE, were ground with super coarse (black) and fine (red) burs inside a glass chamber. Ultrafine airborne dust concentration and particle size distribution was measured real-time during grinding with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). Filter-collected airborne particles were characterized with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC-3KT) were exposed to the dusts in dose-effect experiments. Toxicity was measured with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay and cell counting kit-8 (CCK8). Cellular uptake was observed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

RESULTS

Airborne ultrafine particles showed that most particles were in the size range 15-35 nm (SMPS). SEM analysis proved that more than 80% of the particles have a minimum Feret diameter less than 1 μm. In solution (DLS), the particles have larger diameters and tend to agglomerate. Cell toxicity (LDH, CCK8) is shown after 48 h and 72 h exposure times and at the highest doses. TEM showed presence of the particles within the cell cytoplasm.

SIGNIFICANCE

Prolonged and frequent exposure through inhalation may have negative health implications for dentists.

A single high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T compared to the HEART score for a rapid rule-out of acute myocardial infarction at a prehospital emergency clinic

Background

Patients presenting with acute chest pain outside of hospitals represent a diagnostic challenge.

Purpose

We aimed to validate whether a single high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) safely can rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a primary care emergency setting. In addition, we aimed to investigate if the hs-HEART (History, Electrocardiogram (ECG), Age, Risk factors, and hs-Troponin) score would add valuable diagnostic information.

Methods

This is a secondary analysis from a prospective diagnostic study, including 1711 patients with acute non-specific chest pain presenting to a primary care emergency clinic from November 2016 to October 2018. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 0/1-hour algorithm triages patients towards direct rule-out if the 0-hour hs-cTnT is below 5 ng/L, combined with a normal ECG and a 3-hour symptom duration. The hs-HEART score (0–10 points) was calculated retrospectively, and a score ≤3 points was considered low-risk. In addition, a modified hs-HEART score, with more comparable hs-cTnT cut-off values, was applied. The primary endpoint was AMI during the index episode; the secondary the 90-day incidence of AMI (including index) and all-cause death.

Results

Among 1711 patients, 61 (3.6%) had an AMI, and 525 (30.7%) were assigned towards direct rule-out. With no AMIs in this group, the rule-out safety was high (negative predictive value (NPV) and sensitivity 100%). The hs-HEART score triaged more patients (n=966) as low-risk, but missed six AMIs (NPV 99.4% and sensitivity 90.2%). The modified hs-HEART score (n=707, AMI=3) increased the low-risk sensitivity to 95.1%. The 90-day incidence of AMI and all-cause death in the direct rule-out, low-risk hs-HEART, and modified hs-HEART group, were 0.0%, 0.7%, and 0.4%, respectively.

Conclusions

The ESC direct rule-out approach, with a single hs-cTnT below 5 ng/L, combined with a normal ECG, and a 3-hour symptom duration, is superior to the two hs-HEART scores in ruling out AMI in a primary care emergency setting.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): The Norwegian Research Fund for General Practice

3298Prehospital assessment of the one-hour rule-in/rule-out algorithm using a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin t assay in a low-prevalence population for acute coronary syndrome (OUT-ACS)

Background

The majority of patients with chest pain in Norway initially present to the primary health care system, which serves to triage them to the specialist health care services including hospitals. In some emergency primary care institutions, patients who are not hospitalised directly undergo further diagnostic testing to rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Purpose

Several studies have shown the advantage of using high-sensitivity assays for fast interpretation of cardiac troponins. The majority of these studies included patient populations from hospital emergency departments. In contrast, we aimed to investigate whether the 1-hour algorithm for high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is safe and useful for implementation in a primary care emergency setting where the patients have a much lower pre-test probability for an acute coronary syndrome.

Methods

In this prospective cohort study, we included 1672 patients with acute non-specific chest pain from November 2016 to October 2018 at a primary care emergency outpatient clinic in Norway. Serial hs-cTnT samples were analysed after 0, 1 and 4 hours on the Cobas 8000 e602 analyzer. We divided the results into one of three groups (rule-out, rule-in, or further observation), according to the 0/1-hour algorithm for hs-cTn from the current ESC guidelines on non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. In the rule-out group, the 0/1-hour results were compared to the standard 4-hour hs-cTnT. Final hospital diagnoses were collected as a gold standard for the patients in the rule-in group.

Results

A total of 44 (2.6%) of 1672 patients were diagnosed with AMI. By applying the algorithm, 1274 (76.2%) patients were assigned to the rule-out group. One of the rule-out patients had a significant increase in hs-cTnT in the 4-hour sample. This results in a sensitivity for AMI of 97.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 88.0–99.9) and negative predictive value of 99.9% (95% CI 99.6–100.0). There were 50 (3.0%) patients in the rule-in group, amongst whom 35 had a verified AMI. This gives a specificity for AMI of 99.1% (95% CI 98.5–99.5) and a positive predictive value at 70.0% (95% CI 55.4–82.1). Among the 348 (20.8%) patients assigned to further observation, eight patients had an AMI. The 15 rule-in patients who did not have an AMI, had other acute illnesses that required further diagnostic work-up at the hospital.

Conclusions

With a negative predictive value at 99.9%, the 1-hour algorithm for hs-cTnT seems safe and applicable for a faster assessment of patients with non-specific chest pain in a primary care emergency setting. Prehospital implementation of this algorithm may reduce the need for hospitalisation of these patients and hence may probably lower the costs.

ClinicalTrial.gov identifier: NCT02983123

Acknowledgement/Funding

Norwegian Research Fund for General Practice, The Norwegian Physicians' Association Fund for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety