Tooth Extraction Before Heart Surgery May Increase Risk
New Dental Material May Decrease Treatment Time Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology in Wien, Austria, have discovered a new dental material based on the chemical element germanium that may harden more quickly and more easily than traditional dental
Tooth Extraction Before Heart Surgery May Increase Risk
A recent study conducted by researchers at the
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has revealed that extraction of abscessed
or infected teeth prior to cardiac surgery may increase the risk of adverse
outcomes. The findings, published in the paper “Morbidity
and Mortality Associated With Dental Extraction Before Cardiac Operation” in
the March 2014 issue of the Annals of
Thoracic Surgery, were reached through a retrospective review of 205
patients who received dental extractions before scheduled cardiac surgery.
Results of the study may affect clinical guidelines, which currently recommend
such extractions take place prior to surgery in order to prevent infective
endocarditis.
“We
are always concerned with improving safety, and pulling infected teeth before
heart surgery seemed to be the safer intervention,” notes study author Kendra J. Grim, MD.
“But we became interested in studying this complex patient group, as many
patients who come to the operating room for dental surgery just before heart
surgery are quite ill.”
To
complete their study, researchers identified 205 patients who underwent dental
extraction prior to cardiac surgery. A total of 208 dental extractions were
recorded. Twelve patients (6%) died within a month of dental extraction, with
half of that number passing before the cardiac surgery was performed. Other
adverse outcomes included acute coronary syndrome, stroke, renal failure,
and the need for post-operative mechanical ventilation.
The authors concluded that the 8% prevalence of major
adverse events documented by their study should “alert physicians to
evaluate the individualized risk of anesthesia and operation in this patient
population.” The findings do not, however, establish
that the tooth extraction(s) caused the negative events, leading the
researchers to suggest that risks and benefits of dental extraction prior to
cardiac surgery be weighed on a case-by-case basis.
Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter
June 2014
