Does thePenicillin Allergy Label Affect Outcomes of Complicated Odontogenic Infections?

PURPOSE: Penicillins are a potent antibiotic in managing odontogenic infections, but 10% of the population is labelled as allergic to these drugs. This has limited their use and resulted in increased utilization of health care resources as well as complications associated with alternative antibiotics. The purpose of the study was to measure the association between patients labeled as penicillin allergic and treatment outcomes in a sample of patients treated for complicated odontogenic infections. Additionally, we sought to investigate antibiotic resistance patterns in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed at the Michigan Medicine health care system to include patients who were treated for complicated odontogenic infections by oral and maxillofacial surgery between 2016 and 2020. Complicated odontogenic infection was defined as any odontogenic infection requiring admission and surgical management in the operating room. The primary predictor variable was the penicillin allergy label, which was determined by chart review and not confirmed with formal testing. Outcomes were measures of disease severity. The primary outcome variable was hospital length of stay. Secondary outcome variables were ICU admission (yes/no), repeat computed tomography scan(s), repeat surgery (yes/no), and re-admission (yes/no). Co-variates included were age, sex (male/female), tobacco use status, diabetes, immunocompromised state, number of spaces involved, white blood cell count upon admission and insurance status. For our secondary aim, the primary predictor variable was again penicillin allergy and outcome variable was antibiotic resistance as determined by wound culture results following surgical intervention. Negative binomial regression and logistic regression analyses were performed. P < .05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 150 patients met the inclusion criteria and of those 17.3% reported as penicillin allergic. Patients labelled as penicillin allergic did not differ significantly from patients without penicillin allergy label in terms of treatment outcomes. Age, diabetes, and immunosuppression were associated with an increased length of stay. Patients labelled as penicillin allergic were at significantly higher risk for antibiotic resistance (relative risk = 2.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.66 to 3.32; P < .001), specifically clindamycin resistance (relative risk = 3.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.93 to 5.18; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Penicillin allergy was significantly associated with clindamycin resistance. There were similar outcomes amongst patients with and without a penicillin allergy label despite antibiotic differences. Delabeling efforts for patients with a reported penicillin allergy must be considered and local nomograms for antibiotic selection should be used by providers when seeking alternative antibiotics.

OMS residents' obstructive sleep apnea-related education, knowledge, and professional behavior: A national survey.

OBJECTIVES: Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) treat adult and pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Objective 1 assessed sleep apnea-related education, knowledge, and professional behavior of OMS residents in the United States. Objective 2 was to compare the responses of junior versus senior residents and residents in single- versus dual-degree programs. METHODS: OMS residents in the United States received a recruitment email with a link to an anonymous online survey; 81 residents responded. The survey included 20 questions to assess respondents' OSA-related education, knowledge, attitudes, and professional behavior. RESULTS: Respondents generally agreed that they had received OSA-related didactic-based education (5-point scale with "5" = agree strongly: mean = 3.62) and clinical training (mean = 3.75). Clinical and classroom educational gaps were identified in relation to treatment with oral appliances and hypoglossal nerve stimulation. The residents scored on average 10.38 out of 18 (58%) possible correct answer points for the knowledge questions. Findings about pediatric OSA suggest that only 43.8% of residents understand diagnostic criteria for pediatric OSA, with only 26.6% screening pediatric patients for OSA. A case analysis showed that only 1.5% of residents correctly identified an apnea-hypopnea index of 17 as moderate sleep apnea. CONCLUSION(S): This survey found knowledge gaps in several areas that can be improved upon. It identifies deficiency in objective knowledge about OSA among OMS residents and a specific lack of clinical training and confidence with hypoglossal nerve stimulation and management of pediatric patients with OSA. Junior and senior residents and single- and dual-degree residents showed no statistically significant differences in any category except senior residents in regard to surgical management of OSA, particularly with maxillomandibular advancement.

Maxillomandibular advancement effectively treats obstructive sleep apnea in adolescents at short-term follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) surgery for the treatment of malocclusion and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in an adolescent population. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study was designed using electronic medical record chart review. RESULTS: Fifteen patients aged 20 years or younger (range, 14-20) were included. All patients underwent MMA surgery for the primary correction of malocclusion and secondary treatment of OSA. Mean preoperative apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 28.9 ± 16.0 events/h (range, 7.1-54.7), and mean postoperative AHI was 5.7 ± 4.6 events/h (range, 1.5-18.4), reflecting a reduction of 23.2 events/h, an 80.6% reduction (P < .001). Fourteen patients (93.3%) experienced improvement in AHI. Mean minimal posterior airway space increased from 4.6 mm to 8.6 mm (P < .001). Mean posterior airway space at the level of the uvular tip increased from 6.7 mm to 11.5 mm (P < .001). Patients who underwent adjunct genioglossus advancement (GGA) had a mean decrease in AHI of 35.3 events/h (P = .004), which was not significantly different from the decrease in those who did not receive GGA. CONCLUSIONS: MMA surgery with or without GGA is an effective treatment option for adolescents with a malocclusion and an AHI >5.0 events/h. In this population, it is shown to decrease AHI and increase posterior airway space. More research is required to determine the ideal adolescent candidate for MMA surgery.

Capnography monitoring in procedural intravenous sedation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Currently, procedural sedation in the clinical setting relies heavily on the use of pulse oximetry to monitor hypoxemia. Different studies suggest that incidence of hypoxemia and incidence of arterial oxygen desaturation are reduced by early intervention via capnography monitoring. The aim of this article was to discuss the importance of implementing capnography monitoring during procedural sedations performed in a dental setting and determine whether additional capnographic monitoring reduces the incidence of arterial oxygen desaturation and the overall complications rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two independent reviewers conducted electronic (PubMed and EMBASE) and manual searches up to February 2020. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs), including both patients under procedural sedation monitored by capnography and oximetry, and reporting the incidence of hypoxemia or episodes of oxygen desaturation were included. Risk ratio was used to compare the outcomes (i.e., the incidence of hypoxemia, the episodes of oxygen desaturation, the detection of apnea, the reduction of events of bradycardia, and hypotension) between patients monitored by capnography and standard approach. RESULTS: Fourteen randomized clinical trials fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected. The analysis revealed that capnography monitoring group showed the lower incidence of hypoxemia (RR 0.76, 95%CI 0.70 to 0.83, p < 0.001) and the episodes of oxygen desaturation (RR 0.79, 95%CI 0.71 to 0.87, p < 0.001) compared with the oximetry monitoring group. Apnea was detected in capnography monitoring earlier than standard monitoring (RR 2.60, 95%CI 2.30 to 2.93, p < 0.001). No significant difference was found between capnography and standard monitoring groups in terms of reduction of events of bradycardia (RR 1.17, 95%CI 0.91 to 1.50, p = 0.225) and hypotension (RR 0.96, 95%CI 0.76 to 1.21, p = 0.746). CONCLUSION: Capnography monitoring reduced incidence of hypoxemia during procedural sedations. Within the limitations of this review, we suggest that the application of capnography during procedural sedation would decrease the frequency of oxygen desaturation events and incidence of hypoxemia. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Training and instructing dental providers on using capnography monitoring would help in reducing adverse events during intravenous sedation.