Summary:
Objective: To analyze the frequency, types and distribution of patients with
infectious diseases as reported in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial
Surgery of the Dental School of the National Kapodestrian University of Athens,
to review the literature and analyse the most recent treatment protocols and
guided instructions of care, for patients with HBV, HCV, HIV, in Oral &
Maxillofacial Surgery.
Material and method: This is a retrospective study of 57 cases of infectious
diseases. The records of the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery were
reviewed and analyzed for patients with HBV, HCV, HIV and severe dental
problems, treted during a 5-year period (2004-2009). On the total of these 57
patients, 261 surgical tooth extractions were performed, under certain
prophylactic measures for achievement of normal wound healing and precaution of
infectious transmission. Data was compiled for each case, documenting
information relating to age, gender and the type of infectious diseases.
Results: during the period 2004-9, a total of 57 cases were treated in the
clinic, with an average age of 32 years, in a range between 18-45 years of age.
In the study according to gender cases, 48 men and 9 women were reported
(89%-16%), and among them 40 patients with HBV, 15 patients with HCV and 2
patients with HIV (70, 2%, 26, 3%, 3, 5%). The 261 surgical procedures
performed included surgical tooth and root extractions, surgical removal of
cystic lesions, alveolar regenerative procedures, debridement and suturing of
the soft tissues of the oral cavity. Antibiotic medication was prescribed and
postsurgical directions were given to all patients. During the patients’
programmed recall for examination of the healing process, only a single case of
a patient was documented with postsurgical complications, diagnosed with
osseonecrotic lesions in the oral cavity. Surgical treatment of the lesions was
performed and the following healing process of the patient was successful.
Conclusion: Surgical procedures on patients with infectious diseases must be
performed under a specific protocol that secures a successful outcome, without
the danger of transmission of the infection. In the clinic of Oral &
Maxillofacial Surgery of the Dental school of Athens, all the necessary
prophylactic measures and the precise surgical approach for each patient are
the fundamental criteria for the treatment of patients with infectious
diseases. These criteria secure a normal healing process with limited risk of
transmission of the disease to other patients or medical personnel. Patients
with infectious diseases must be treated with special care among the general
population of patients and not as a marginal group.
Keywords:
HBV, HCV, HIV, Oral Surgery, Prophylaxis
