Verma S, Chambers I
Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania.
Aust Dent J. 2014 Sep;59(3):329-33. doi: 10.1111/adj.12202. Epub 2014 Jul 22.
Dental problems presenting to general hospital emergency departments (GHEDs) may create difficulties as there may not be appropriate facilities or personnel to manage them. The incidence and demographics of dental presentations to GHEDs in Tasmania are currently unexamined. This knowledge may be relevant in shaping dental service delivery.
The Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) was used to audit dental presentations through 2012. The presentations were analysed with respect to demographics and management. A literature review regarding dental presentations to GHEDs was also undertaken.
Four hundred and fifty-four patient presentations to the RHH Emergency Department (ED) in 2012 were primarily of a dental nature, comprising 0.91% of all ED presentations. Sixty per cent of patients were male, and most were younger than 30 years. Dental abscesses and toothache accounted for 66%. Nine per cent of dental presentations (including 21% of infections) resulted in hospital admission.
Dental infections contribute a significant burden of ED dental presentations. Encouraging and facilitating patients to seek timely and appropriate primary care from dentists may decrease the number of presentations to ED, and the drain on time and resources. Additionally, this may spare patients from the unpleasant experience of an acute dental infection episode.
因综合医院急诊科（GHEDs）可能没有合适的设施或人员来处理牙科问题，所以此类问题可能会造成困难。目前塔斯马尼亚州综合医院急诊科牙科就诊的发病率和人口统计学情况尚未得到研究。这些信息对于规划牙科服务提供可能具有相关性。
利用皇家霍巴特医院（RHH）的急诊科信息系统（EDIS）对2012年全年的牙科就诊情况进行审核。对就诊情况进行了人口统计学和管理方面的分析。还对有关综合医院急诊科牙科就诊情况的文献进行了综述。
2012年有454例患者到RHH急诊科就诊，主要是牙科问题，占所有急诊科就诊病例的0.91%。60%的患者为男性，大多数年龄小于30岁。牙脓肿和牙痛占66%。9%的牙科就诊病例（包括21%的感染病例）导致住院治疗。
牙科感染在急诊科牙科就诊病例中造成了相当大的负担。鼓励并促使患者及时寻求牙医的适当初级护理，可能会减少到急诊科就诊的病例数量以及时间和资源的消耗。此外，这还可使患者免受急性牙科感染发作的不愉快经历。
