BSc BDS; Oral and Maxillofacial Registrar (Non-training), Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Waikato Hospital Hamilton, New Zealand.
BDS; Oral and Maxillofacial House Officer, Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Waikato Hospital Hamilton, New Zealand.
N Z Med J. 2022 Mar 11;135(1551):95-105.
Within New Zealand (NZ) there is limited research concerning demographics and utilisation of the Emergency Department (ED) for dental-related conditions. The aim of this research was to identify the prevalence of dental presentations to Waikato Hospital ED, defining patient demographics, discharge diagnoses, management, and re-presentation rates.
Patients who presented to the Waikato Hospital ED from 2015 to 2019 with ICD-10 dental diagnoses were included in the study. Data collected included patient demographics, discharge diagnosis and management of these presentations. Statistical analysis was completed using IBM SPSS Statistical Version 26.0.
Over the five-year study period, 4030 presentations to Waikato Hospital ED were dentally related, making up 0.98% of all ED presentations. Patients were primarily male (54%), NZ European (45%) or Māori (42%), from regions of high deprivation, presenting outside of work hours (68%). Seventy-three percent of dental presentations were non-traumatic. Ninety percent of patients were discharged with symptomatic management. Of patients admitted only 4% required management under general anaesthesia (GA). Representation occurred in 6% of patients, primarily for non-traumatic dental disease (89%). Fifty-one percent of re-attenders were male, 42% Māori and 50% of patients had a deprivation index of 9 or 10. Forty-one percent of patients re-presented within a week.
At Waikato Hospital, males, NZ European, and patients of high deprivation most commonly presented to ED for dental related presentation, which were primarily non-traumatic in origin. Many patients did not require hospital care, and were managed by ED and discharged. Few patients re-presented to ED for further care. Dental presentations to ED are potentially preventable, and may be related to barriers such as cost, access or health knowledge, or an increased need. Further research is required on strategies to reduce ED presentations for dental conditions.
在新西兰（NZ），有关牙科相关疾病在急诊科（ED）就诊的人口统计学和利用情况的研究有限。本研究旨在确定怀卡托医院 ED 牙科就诊的患病率，确定患者人口统计学特征、出院诊断、管理和再就诊率。
本研究纳入了 2015 年至 2019 年期间因 ICD-10 牙科诊断而到怀卡托医院 ED 就诊的患者。收集的数据包括患者人口统计学特征、出院诊断和这些就诊的管理。使用 IBM SPSS 统计版本 26.0 完成统计分析。
在为期五年的研究期间，怀卡托医院 ED 共收治 4030 例牙科相关就诊，占 ED 就诊总数的 0.98%。患者主要为男性（54%）、新西兰欧洲裔（45%）或毛利人（42%），来自高贫困地区，在工作时间外就诊（68%）。73%的牙科就诊是非创伤性的。90%的患者接受对症治疗出院。仅 4%的住院患者需要全身麻醉（GA）管理。6%的患者再次就诊，主要是为了治疗非创伤性牙科疾病（89%）。再次就诊的患者中有 51%为男性，42%为毛利人，50%的患者贫困指数为 9 或 10。41%的患者在一周内再次就诊。
在怀卡托医院，男性、新西兰欧洲裔和高贫困地区的患者最常因牙科相关疾病就诊，这些疾病主要是非创伤性的。许多患者不需要住院治疗，由 ED 管理并出院。很少有患者因进一步治疗再次到 ED 就诊。ED 牙科就诊是可以预防的，可能与成本、就诊机会或健康知识等障碍有关，或者是需求增加所致。需要进一步研究减少 ED 牙科就诊的策略。
