Physician and dentist compliance with American Heart Association guidelines for prevention of bacterial endocarditis.
To determine the rate of physician and dentist compliance with the American Heart Association's (AHA) recommendations for prophylaxis against bacterial endocarditis--considered the standard of care--questionnaires were mailed to 1,131 dental and medical practitioners. They were asked to identify various cardiac conditions requiring prophylaxis and dental procedures that would cause a bacteremia, and to write prescriptions for prophylactic antibiotics for five different scenarios. Both groups had low compliance with AHA recommendations (32.9% collectively) when prescribing appropriate antibiotic regimens for bacterial endocarditis prophylaxis.
Nelson
C L
CL
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Indiana University, Indianapolis 46202.
Van Blaricum
C S
CS
D000573:American Hospital Association; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003815:Dentists; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity; D004363:Drug Utilization; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D010406:Penicillins / Q000009:adverse effects; D010820:Physicians; D011292:Premedication; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease; D014481:United States
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010406:Penicillins