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Knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists towards prophylaxis after exposure to blood and body fluids
S Shaghaghian, S Pardis1, Z Mansoori
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. soheilpardis7@gmail.com.
Background:
Post-exposure prophylaxis plays an important role in prevention of bloodborne diseases after occupational exposures.
Objective:
To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists towards post-exposure prophylaxis.
Methods:
In a cross-sectional study, 140 dentists in Shiraz were selected through a systematic randomized sampling. They filled out a self-made questionnaire including 30 knowledge, 4 attitude and 10 practice questions. Mean of knowledge and percentage of various items of attitude and practice were reported.
Results:
The mean±SD knowledge score of dentists was 18.5±6.2. Knowledge had a significant relationship with the level of education (p<0.001), attending infection control seminars (p<0.001), and working in public clinics (p<0.001). A total of 63 (43%) dentists believed that immediate washing of the exposed area has no effect on the prevention of hepatitis and AIDS. Of the studied dentists, 13%, 11%, and 34% believed that prophylaxis after exposure to patients' blood had no effect on prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus infections, respectively. Only 170 (53%) exposed dentists immediately washed the exposed area and only 43 (13.4%) of them evaluated the source patient for risk factors of hepatitis and AIDS.
Conclusion:
Knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists working in Shiraz towards postexposure prophylaxis are not desirable. Interventions to raise their awareness are therefore warranted.
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