Presentations 2020: OMFS

353 - An audit of the referrals to our OMFS department for dental assessment and management of patients awaiting cardiac surgery.

E JONES B GRIFFITHS S JONES
Presented by: Emily Jones
Royal Gwent Hospital

Introduction: At present, we are receiving a number of urgent referrals for cardiac patients to receive a dental assessment and treatment prior to their cardiac surgery. However, the department is an OMFS department and does not provide conservative or periodontal treatment. These patients are currently examined by OMFS DCTs, often outside working hours or in between on-call duties to ensure timely management of these priority patients. This consequently results in a demand on the service and cancellation of patients on the waiting list in order to find potential extraction appointments. Methods: We have reviewed the records of cardiac patients who were referred for a dental assessment from September 2019 to March 2020. Data was collected on the date of referral, the date and outcome of the dental assessment and details of the extraction appointment. Results: From September to January, 17 cardiac patients were referred to the OMFS department for a dental assessment and all were planned to be seen within 7 days. 18% of patients did not attend this arranged appointment with reasons including an uncertainty if cardiac surgery was still necessary. 47% of patients required dental treatment due to caries or periodontal disease and extraction appointments were made within two weeks. However, some complications arose during these booked appointments such as patients not attending as they had already been transferred to another hospital for their cardiac surgery. Conclusion: The purpose of this project is to use the data collected to explore the impact of accepting these referrals on our OMFS department, especially as we are not funded for providing this additional service. It may be more apt for this group of patients to be seen in a well equipped dental setting that is able to facilitate their preferred treatment option. Also, we will discuss the lack of clear guidelines concerning the dental management of pre-operative cardiac patients.
Consent Statement: There are no details on individual patients reported within the abstract.

Poster