Senior dental students’ skill about drug prescription for patients with systemic diseases

Abstract: Introduction: Infection and pain are the most common problems that cause patients to visit the dentist. Improper drug prescription before, during and after dental treatments can cause various clinical signs and emergencies in the patient or the exacerbation of his current systemic disease. This study was conducted to determine the skills of senior dental students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in prescribing drugs in patients with chronic kidney disease and bleeding disorders in 2021 Materials and methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 60 senior dental students in Guilan University of Medical Sciences using a self-administered questionnaire [Content Validity Index (CVI)=0.8, Content (Validity Ratio (CVR) = 0.86)]. The questionnaire included some demographic information and 10 open-end questions about the skill of prescribing medication in patients with Kidney and bleeding disorders. Results: The mean overall skill of students in prescribing drugs was 33.95 ± 13.07 out of 70. The students' skill in writing of the form of medicine, drug dosage, correct spelling of medicine and frequency of drug use and how to take the medicine was weak. Their skill in writing the name of the medicine and assessing drug interactions was average and good respectively. Statistical analysis did not show a significant correlation between the skill of students in prescribing drugs with education place and gender. Conclusion: The students' skill in prescribing medicine for patients with kidney disease and bleeding disorder was at a weak level. Which indicates the insufficient attention of dental students to the science of pharmacology or the inadequacy of teaching of students about the correct principles of prescribing medicine for systemic patients. Therefore, it is emphasized to provide more workshop and practical units in this field along with strengthening their skills based on problem solving.