Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet

Background and Objectives: The aims of this systematic review were to identify additional infection control measures implemented in dental practice globally to prevent cross-infection and evaluate the psychological impacts of the pandemic among dental professionals. Materials and Methods: A sequential systematic literature search was conducted from December 2019 to 30 April 2020 through PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase, and Web of Science databases. The search yielded the following results: “COVID-19” (n = 12,137), “Novel corona virus” (n = 63), “COVID-19 and dentistry” (n = 46), “COVID-19 and oral health” (n = 41), “Novel Corona virus and Dentistry” (n = 0), “dental health and Novel Coronavirus” (n = 26), and “dental practice and Novel Coronavirus” (n = 6). Results: After a careful review and eliminating articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final review included 13 articles. Management of infection control is discussed extensively in the literature and remains the main theme of many Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) articles on dentistry. Telephone triage using a questionnaire, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE) for clinical and nonclinical staff, a preprocedural mouth rinse, and aerosol management have been discussed and implemented in few countries. Three studies recommended that elective treatments for patients with a temperature of >100.4 F or 38 °C should be postponed or performed in an airborne infection isolation room (AIIR) or negative-pressure room. Limiting the number of patients in the waiting area, the removal of shared objects, proper ventilation, and physical distancing were highly recommended. Psychological distress among dental professionals in relation to existing medical conditions and self-efficacy has been discussed. Conclusions: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the dental profession worldwide, our review highlights many practice management approaches to adopt the new norm. More research highlighting evidence-based safety practices and multisectoral collaboration is required to help dental professionals make informed decisions and make the profession safe, both for the patient and dental professionals.

The system developed in this study has proved to be an effective tool which serves to guarantee the compliance of the ship pharmacy with regulations of the flag state in terms of medicinal products and medications. Sharing the system with the Telemedical Maritime Assistance Service may result in avoiding mistakes in drug administration. Last but not least the availability of PARSI could help reduce/ avoid problems with maritime health authorities in case any of the required medicinal products are missing.

A realistic possibility to obtain medical care for patients located in remote sites such as seagoing vessels, in which health professionals are not available, is to contact a doctor via telecommunication systems. In general, the medical knowledge of who on board ships is in charge of medical care is quite limited and therefore, in a first level telemedical consultation, the flow of information should be correct and its efficiency should be maximised. This paper describes an application conceived to improve requests of medical assistance from sailing ships. The ultimate objective of this system is a) to standardise as much as possible the requests of medical advice at a distance, b) to overcome language barriers and jammed-related troubles that could make difficult or not understandable a telephone conversation. The application is based on a software engine extracting data from an ontological knowledgebase built ad hoc using Protégé. Compared to the conventional consultation systems based on telephone and e-mail, the proposed device is more accurate and complete in terms of information contained in the request of assistance. Moreover, data received by the medical centre can be more easily managed, as they can be standardised. The system described here allows people responsible of medical care on board ships to forward detailed requests of assistance containing symptom-guided information on patient clinical conditions. This may represent an innovative tool for medical consultations at distance allowing the remote centre to provide more precise and quicker medical advice.

Background:The aim of this systematic review is to shed light on practical implications of Covid-19 pandemic for the profession of dentistry. It examines the current literature and dental guidelines on Covid-19 in a systematic manner.Methods:A sequential systematic literature search was conducted on Pubmed, Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, Google scholar, Embase of Web of Science. The search results yielded the following results-Covid-19 (n=5171), Novel corona virus (n=63), Covid- 19 and dentistry (n=46), Covid-19 and oral health (n=41) Novel Corona virus and Dentistry (n=0), dental health and Novel Coronavirus (n=26), and dental practice and Novel Coronavirus (n=6)Results:The final review included 13 articles after elimination of other articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Original articles and systematic reviews addressing 2019-nCoV and dentistry were entitled for inclusion, case reports, case series, correspondences, editorials were not included. Bias risk assessment was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)Conclusion:Covid-19 pandemic is an existential crisis for the profession of dentistry and requires a complete rethink about many aspects of the profession due to the nature of dental work. Evidence based research and multi-sectorial collaboration is required to make the profession safe again, both for the patient and dental team.