Local anaesthetics combined with vasoconstrictors in patients with cardiovascular disease undergoing dental procedures: systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: There is a lack of evidence about the use of local anaesthetics (LAs) in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in dental procedures. Thus, this study evaluated the safety of using LA with vasoconstrictor to determine the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with CVD. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: We have searched in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), Healthstar (via Ovid), CINAHL, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) up to January 2020. We have included RCTs involving adults with CVD within two groups: intervention group with LA with vasoconstrictor and control group with LA without vasoconstrictor. The primary outcomes assessed were death, mortality by a specific cause, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, hospitalisation, pain, bleeding and arrhythmias. The secondary outcomes were ST segment depression, anxiety, adverse effects and changes in haemodynamic parameters. The data were pooled using random effects meta-analyses and the confidence in the estimates was verified using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). RESULTS: Ten RCTs (n=478 participants) were included. Most of them had a high risk of bias. There were more cases of pain and bleeding in groups without vasoconstrictor. Meta-analysis demonstrated a decrease in the systolic blood pressure with the use of LA with vasoconstrictor (standard mean difference -0.95, 95% CI -1.35 to -0.55) after procedure. Overall, for the other outcomes assessed there was no statistical difference. The quality of evidence was considered low according to the GRADE profile. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the use of LA with vasoconstrictors (epinephrine in low doses) is safe in patients with some types of CVD. However, the low quality of evidence demonstrated that literature needs further studies in order to confirm these results. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42016045421).

Effectiveness and safety of oral sedation in adult patients undergoing dental procedures: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: It can be challenging to manage patients who are anxious during dental procedures. There is a lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of oral sedation in adults. This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of oral sedation in patients undergoing dental procedures. DESIGN: Systematic review. METHODS: Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) compared the oral use of benzodiazepines and other medications with a placebo or other oral agents in adult patients. A search of the Cochrane (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (via Ovid) databases was conducted, without any restrictions on language or date of publication. The primary outcomes included the adverse effects and anxiety level. The secondary outcomes included sedation, satisfaction with the treatment, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation. Reviewers, independently and in pairs, assessed each citation for eligibility, performed the data extraction and assessed the risk of bias. A narrative synthesis of the data was provided. RESULTS: A number of RCTs (n=327 patients) assessed the use of benzodiazepines (n=9) and herbal medicines (n=3). We found good satisfaction with treatment after the use of midazolam 7.5 mg or clonidine 150 µg and reduced anxiety with alprazolam (0.5 and 0.75 mg). Midazolam 15 mg promoted greater anxiety reduction than Passiflora incarnata L. 260 mg, while Valeriana officinalis 100 mg and Erythrina mulungu 500 mg were more effective than a placebo. More patients reported adverse effects with midazolam 15 mg. Diazepam 15 mg and V. officinalis 100 mg promoted less change in the heart rate and blood pressure than a placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Given the limitations of the findings due to the quality of the included studies and the different comparisons made between interventions, further RCTs are required to confirm the effectiveness and safety of oral sedation in dentistry. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017057142.

Bleeding Risk in Patients Using Oral Anticoagulants Undergoing Surgical Procedures in Dentistry: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The management of patients who undergo dental surgical procedures and receive oral anticoagulant therapy requires particular attention due to the risk of bleeding that may occur during the procedure. Bleeding rates in these trans- or post-operative patients tend to be unpredictable. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review in order to assess the risk of bleeding during and after performing oral surgery in patients administered oral anticoagulants compared with a group that discontinued anticoagulant therapy. For the purposes of this review, we searched the databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), and the Virtual Health Library (VHL) from inception of the database to December 2018. The primary outcome was defined as the occurrence of local bleeding during and after oral surgical procedures. Four reviewers, independently and in pairs, screened titles and abstracts for full-text eligibility. Data regarding participant characteristics, interventions, and design and outcomes of the included studies were extracted. The data were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses and described as risk ratios (RRs) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The confidence for the pooled estimates was ascertained through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, and the protocol of this review was recorded in PROSPERO (CRD42017056986). A total of 58 eligible studies were identified, of which three randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis, covering a total of 323 adult participants, among whom 167 were taking anticoagulants at the time they underwent dental surgery. Of these patients, 14.2% had reported bleeding. The risk of bleeding was found to be one to almost three times greater in patients taking warfarin compared with patients who discontinued the use of anticoagulant during the trans-operative period (RR = 1.67, 95% CI = 0.97 to 2.89) and in the post-operative period (RR = 1.44, 95% CI = 0.71 to 2.92), although the quality of evidence was very low. The results indicate that there is no evidence that the use of anticoagulants eliminates the risk of bleeding during surgical dental procedures.

Effectiveness and safety of oral sedation in adult patients undergoing dental procedures: protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: The management of anxious patients undergoing dental procedures is still a challenge in clinical practice. Despite a wide variety of drugs for oral sedation in adult patients, there are relatively few systematic reviews that compare the effectiveness and safety of different drugs administered via this route. Thus, this study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of oral sedation with benzodiazepines and other agents to patients undergoing dental surgical procedures. METHOD/DESIGN: We will conduct a systematic review and, if appropriate, a meta-analysis of randomised controlled clinical trials that will evaluate the use of conscious sedation administered orally to adult patients undergoing oral surgery. The search will be conducted using electronic databases, such as the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (via Ovid), EMBASE (via Ovid), CINAHL (via Ovid), Lilacs (SciELO) and Capes database, without restriction of languages or date of publication. Primary outcomes include anxiety, sedation, treatment satisfaction, pain and adverse effects. Secondary outcomes include vital parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure) and patient cooperation during intervention. A team of reviewers will independently assess each citation for eligibility and in duplicates. For eligible studies, the same reviewers will perform data extraction, risk of bias assessment and determination of the overall quality of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation classification system. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The evidence gathered from this study should provide dental surgeons with knowledge on the effectiveness and safety of oral sedation in adults requiring dental surgical procedures. This in turn should contribute towards the decision-making process in dental practice, minimising the risks of anxiety and ineffective pain control in clinical procedures, as well as possible side effects. Ethics approval is not required in protocols for systematic reviews. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at conferences. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017057142.

Bleeding risk in patients using oral anticoagulants submitted to surgical procedures in dentistry: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The management of patients undergoing oral surgical procedures using anticoagulants raises concerns regarding the risk of bleeding. Bleeding rates in those patients during or after oral surgical procedures are uncertain. The aim of this study will be to determine the bleeding rate during and after oral surgeries in patients using anticoagulants. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic review will be conducted and if appropriate, a meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials evaluating the bleeding risk during and after oral surgical procedures in patients using anticoagulants were selected. The literature search will be conducted using electronic databases, such as the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE (via Ovid), Embase (via Ovid), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (via Ovid), LILACS (SciELO) and CAPES database, without restriction of languages or date of publication. The primary outcome will be the occurrence of local bleeding rate during and after oral surgical procedures, and as secondary outcome, the following complications will be considered: implant failure, healing problems and infections. Groups of two independent reviewers will select the titles and abstracts for full-text eligibility. For eligible studies, the same reviewers will perform data extraction, bias risk assessment and determination of the overall quality of evidence for each of the outcomes using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation classification system. Meta-analysis and subgroup analyses will be conducted, to all outcomes, if appropriate. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and brief reports of the review's findings will be released directly to the intended audience. The results will help dentists in the decision-making process to minimise the risk of bleeding in patients using anticoagulants in their clinical practice. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017056986.