A Cross-Sectional Study of Current Practice of Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Prevention of Infective Endocarditis: A comparison of government and private dental practitioners in Sabah.

Objective: To assess and compare the current practice of antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures in patients at risk of infective endocarditis between government and private dental practitioners in Sabah. Methods: Study subjects were selected via a stratified random sampling method. Names of registered dental practitioners were obtained from the Dental Practitioners' Information Management System (DPIMS) and categorized according to government and private practitioners based on the location of current practice under 5 main divisions in Sabah. A random number generator (www.random.org) was used to select 30 subjects from each division. Results: 87.5 % of government practitioners have less than 5 years of work experience, 59 % of private practitioners have 5-10 years of working experience (p value < 0.0001). The American Heart Association (AHA) guideline is the guideline used by 97.8 % of government and 81.6 % of private practitioners. 87.5 % of government and 77.6 % of private practitioners chose oral amoxicillin as their drug of choice for antibiotic prophylaxis with the regime of 2 grams of oral amoxicillin 30-60 minutes before the procedure. There was a significant difference (p value < 0.05) in antibiotic prophylaxis prescribing trends according to dental procedures between government and private practitioners. Conclusion: Knowledge of antibiotic prophylaxis among dental practitioners in government and private settings in Sabah is up to date. The majority of government and private practitioners adhere to at least one published guideline. However, despite high knowledge and adherence to guidelines by practitioners, efforts to improve compliance with guidelines are imperative to prevent over-prescription of antibiotics and prevent infective endocarditis among dental patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]