Nishat Roquaiya, Babu Narayanasamy Aravindha, Srinivas Murthy S T, Deepak V, Mukherjee Shirsha, Behura Shyam Sundar
Department of Dentistry, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Patna, Bihar, India.
Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Sri Balaji Dental College and Hospital, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
J Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2020 Sep-Dec;24(3):437-445. doi: 10.4103/jomfp.jomfp_442_20. Epub 2021 Jan 9.
Oral pathologists are involved in laboratory diagnosis and receive specimens of biopsy, oral cytologic smears and samples for hematology, biochemistry and microbiology and thus are at a risk for laboratory-acquired infections, which may occur inadvertently and can be considered as an occupational hazard.
This study was conducted during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to assess the knowledge of oral pathologists and oral pathology postgraduate students regarding the safe laboratory practices, procedures and guidelines.
The study was a cross-sectional online questionnaire-based study. Questions were framed to evaluate the knowledge on specimen/sample collection, its handling, disposal and protective measures for laboratory personnel. The study population comprised oral pathologists and oral pathology postgraduate students of various dental colleges in India. A Google Doc format was used to create an effective computerized questionnaire system, and the link was forwarded to around 500 participants. The survey was fielded online between August 29, 2020, and September 5, 2020. Three hundred and twelve responses were received, which were downloaded as spreadsheets for subsequent data analysis.
Mean value of right answers for the oral pathologists was 8.11 ± 2.02 and for postgraduate students was 7.38 ± 1.75. When the knowledge score between the two groups was compared, a statistically significant difference was found.
This article compares and highlights the knowledge lacunae among the oral pathologists and oral pathologists postgraduate students in relation to guidelines to be followed for safety in the laboratory. Adhering to these biosafety regulations reduces occupational health hazards and enhances a safe working environment in the laboratory.
口腔病理学家参与实验室诊断，接收活检标本、口腔细胞学涂片以及血液学、生物化学和微生物学样本，因此面临实验室获得性感染的风险，这种感染可能不经意间发生，可被视为一种职业危害。
本研究在冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间进行，旨在评估口腔病理学家和口腔病理学研究生对安全实验室操作、程序和指南的了解情况。
本研究是一项基于在线问卷的横断面研究。所提问题旨在评估对标本/样本采集、处理、处置以及实验室人员防护措施的了解。研究对象包括印度各牙科学院的口腔病理学家和口腔病理学研究生。使用谷歌文档格式创建有效的计算机化问卷系统，并将链接转发给约500名参与者。该调查于2020年8月29日至2020年9月5日在线开展。共收到312份回复，下载为电子表格用于后续数据分析。
口腔病理学家正确答案的平均值为8.11±2.02，研究生为7.38±1.75。比较两组的知识得分时，发现存在统计学上的显著差异。
本文比较并突出了口腔病理学家和口腔病理学研究生在实验室安全应遵循的指南方面的知识空白。遵守这些生物安全规定可减少职业健康危害，增强实验室的安全工作环境。
