Dental antibiotic stewardship: study protocol for developing international consensus on a core outcome set.

Area of Science:

• Dental medicine
• Infectious diseases
• Public health

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance is a global health crisis exacerbated by antibiotic overprescribing.
• Dentistry contributes significantly to antibiotic prescriptions, with many not adhering to guidelines.
• Standardized outcome measures are needed to compare dental antibiotic stewardship research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish an international consensus on a core outcome set for dental antibiotic stewardship.
• To guide appropriate and necessary antibiotic use in dental practice.

Main Methods:

• A two-round Delphi survey involving dentists, academics, and patients/carers.
• A final online consensus meeting to finalize the core outcome set.
• Recruitment of 30 international participants representing diverse stakeholder groups.

Main Results:

• A consensus was sought on critical outcomes for dental antibiotic stewardship.
• The study aims to establish agreement among diverse stakeholders on key outcomes.
• The core outcome set will cover both therapeutic and prophylactic antibiotic indications in dentistry.

Conclusions:

• Few studies on dental antibiotic stewardship exist, highlighting the need for standardization.
• A core outcome set is vital for comparing international research on dental antibiotic use.
• The developed set will facilitate meaningful comparisons across studies of dental antibiotic stewardship.