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Published on: November 9, 2014
Frequency and characterization of potential drug interactions in dentistry-a cross-sectional study
Marcelo Lehnen Rodrigues de Oliveira1, Gabriela Oltramari Nery2, Thalía Tessaro Torresan2
1, Private Practice in Dentistry, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Aim:
This study aimed to identify medications taken by patients before dental appointments and to simulate and characterize their interactions with medications often prescribed by dental surgeons.
Materials And Methods:
A retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated 320 medical records, 118 from the Emergency Service (ES) archives, and 202 from elective appointments at the Dental Clinic (DC) of a university in southern Brazil. Drug interactions were identified and classified according to severity using the Medscape® application into four grades: (1) Minor, (2) Monitor closely, (3) Serious, or (4) Contraindicated. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were carried out (α = 5%).
Results:
Preexisting systemic conditions were noted in 55.9% of the medical records from the ES and 64.35% from the DC. In the ES records, 47.45% contained information on continuous use medication for treatment of systemic conditions and 59.40% of DC records contained such information. A total of 359 potential interactions were found. Drug interactions with analgesics were most frequent, accounting for 50.41% of the sample.
Conclusions:
The most prevalent drug interaction severity was grade 2: monitor or use with caution. Many patients take medications to treat systemic conditions and seek dental care, generating a significant possible source of drug interactions.
Clinical Relevance:
Prescribers must carefully analyze the patients' medical histories and obtain accurate data regarding their use of medications to be able to assess the risk-benefit relationships of possible combinations.
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