Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Rashid Latif Dental College, Rashid Latif Medical Complex, Lahore, Pakistan.
Department of Oral Pathology, Rashid Latif Dental College, Rashid Latif Medical Complex, Lahore, Pakistan.
Dent Med Probl. 2022 Jul-Sep;59(3):351-356. doi: 10.17219/dmp/149342.
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with the provision of multiple guidelines for the dental profession. All elective procedures were restricted, and only emergency procedures were performed. There was fear and anxiety among dentists while performing aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs), as they were considered to pose a high risk of COVID-19 transmission.
The aim of this study was to assess the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during AGPs, and to examine the association between risk severity and the number of AGPs performed per day. The efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) was also assessed.
This cross-sectional cohort study was based on an online questionnaire form completed by 629 general and specialized dentists between January 1 and February 28, 2021. The collected data referred to the sources of COVID-19 infection, the type of PPE used and the number of AGPs performed each day by dental healthcare professionals (DHCPs). For each question, the absolute numbers of responses as well as percentages were calculated.
Among the 629 DHCPs, 113 (17.97%) contracted COVID-19. The risk of contracting COVID-19 during AGPs was the same as in the case of non-AGPs, and the infection risk was not associated with the number of AGPs performed per day. The efficacy of a surgical mask with a face shield/eye goggles was higher in comparison with all other types of PPE. Differences in the infection risk across the different types of PPE used were statistically significant (p < 0.001).
The risk of COVID-19 transmission during AGPs is the same as in the case of non-AGPs. Thus, restrictions on the performance of elective AGPs should be lifted. On the other hand, the best protection during AGPs is provided by a surgical mask with a face shield/eye goggles.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的爆发与为牙科专业提供的多项指南有关。所有非紧急的择期手术都被限制，只能进行紧急手术。牙医在进行气溶胶产生程序（AGP）时感到恐惧和焦虑，因为这些程序被认为有很高的 COVID-19 传播风险。
本研究旨在评估在 AGP 过程中感染严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）的风险，并研究风险严重程度与每天进行的 AGP 次数之间的关系。还评估了个人防护设备（PPE）的功效。
这是一项基于在线问卷形式的横断面队列研究，于 2021 年 1 月 1 日至 2 月 28 日期间由 629 名普通和专科牙医完成。收集的数据涉及 COVID-19 感染源、使用的 PPE 类型以及牙医保健专业人员（DHCP）每天进行的 AGP 次数。对于每个问题，计算了绝对应答数和百分比。
在 629 名 DHCP 中，有 113 名（17.97%）感染了 COVID-19。在 AGP 期间感染 COVID-19 的风险与非 AGP 相同，并且感染风险与每天进行的 AGP 次数无关。与所有其他类型的 PPE 相比，带面罩/眼罩的手术口罩的功效更高。使用不同类型的 PPE 时，感染风险存在显著差异（p < 0.001）。
AGP 过程中 COVID-19 传播的风险与非 AGP 相同。因此，应取消对择期 AGP 的限制。另一方面，在 AGP 期间，带面罩/眼罩的手术口罩提供了最佳的保护。
