Sohail Saadat.
Antibiotic Prescription Practice of Dental Practitioners in a Public Sector Institute of Karachi.
J Dow Uni Health Sci Jan ;7(2):54-8.

There are very few conditions in dentistry in which systemic antibiotics are indicated, as majority of dentaldiseases are managed by oral hygiene measures and local interventions. In contrast to it, inadequate antibioticprescription practice of dentists is evident in literature. The objective of the study was to assess the antibioticprescription practice of dentists employed in a public sector teaching institute of Karachi. It was a cross sectionalstudy.Subjects and Methods: A cohort of dentists working in a public sector dental institute of Karachi was includedin the study. A self-administered semi-structured validated questionnaire was utilized for assessing the antibioticprescription practice. The data was entered and analyzed using statistical package for social science [SPSS]version 16.0.Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 110 dentists and 89 filled questionnaires were received back fromthe respondents, thus giving a response rate of 81%. Amoxicillin was the antibiotic of choice among 43.3%,Amoxicillin Clavulinate in 34% and Metronidazole in 11.3% of surveyed dentists for the treatment of acutedental infections in patients without any known allergy; whereas Erythromycin (22.5%), Cephalaxin (23.6%)and Clindamycin (30.30%) was preferred for patients allergic to penicillin. Majority of respondents prescribeantibiotics for cellulitis (85.39%), pericronitis (75.20%), acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (70.70%),periodontal abscess (65.10%), acute pulpitis (53.90%), chronic periodontitis (41.50%), chronic marginal gingivitis(24.70%) and dry socket (17.90%).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that majority of respondents prescribe antibiotics routinely, even forconditions where local management would be enough and highlighted that there is a need of developing guidelinesby regulatory bodies based on available literature to regulate appropriate use of antibiotics.

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