Knowledge of infective endocarditis among dental students and interns in seven Nigerian Universities

Objective: Infective Endocarditis is a potentially life-threatening infection that could occur after an invasive dental procedure. It is usually associated with bacteria and high risk cardiac abnormalities. The depth of knowledge of infective endocarditic amongst dental students in developing countries is rarely reported and information relating to this is sparse in Nigeria. This study therefore aimed to determine the knowledge of IE amongst dental students and interns of Nigeria Universities.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among dental students and interns of 7 Nigerian dental institutions using a self-administered questionnaire that captured biographic data, level of education, knowledge of Infective Endocarditis and sources of information. Data generated was analyzed using SPSS Windows version 20.Result: Two hundred and thirty-one students participated in the study. There were 120 males and 111 females, with M: F, 1.08: 1. Mean age was 25.34 ± 3.60 years. The participants were mainly in the age range of 22-25 years. Two hundred and nine (90.5%) participants knew that patients with prosthetic heart valve need prophylactic antibiotics prior to an invasive dental procedure and 204 (88.31%) responded that a positive history of previous endocarditis warrants prophylaxis. More than half knew that restoration of caries with amalgam need no prophylaxis. Knowledge of the type of antibiotics to administer was fair but none knew the right dose and the time of administration.Conclusion: Most participants had fair knowledge about conditions that require prophylactic antibiotics and the type of antibiotics. However, no one knew the dose and the time of administration.Keywords: Knowledge, infective endocarditis, dental students, antibiotic prophylaxi