Sepsis audit | British Dental Journal

Sir, we are writing in response to the letter published 11 March 2006 (_An alarming increase in dental sepsis_). We share the same concerns as Mr Carter and Mr Starr at Hull Royal Infirmary

regarding the presentation of patients to Accident and Emergency departments with dental sepsis. There is indeed evidence that dental sepsis can result in death, but this is rare. There is

no doubt, however, that it poses a significant impact on service provision and financial implications, both to the patient and National Health Service. We have carried out a similar

retrospective audit of numbers of patients presenting to oral and maxillofacial surgery services at Leeds General Infirmary with oro-facial and cervical sepsis of dental origin requiring

admission for management. Our data (see Table below) for the last six years did not reflect the same trend as that in Hull where a 47% increase was observed from 1999 to 2004, the latter

admittedly from smaller data numbers. The picture is clearly more complex. The introduction of the new dental contracts in April 2006 and the potential changes in accessibility of dental

services will alter the situation further, most likely a worsening of the problem. There is a case for a prospective national audit in this instance. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND

AFFILIATIONS * Leeds G Morris & T K Ong Authors * G Morris View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * T K Ong View author publications You can

also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Morris, G., Ong, T. Sepsis audit. _Br Dent J_ 200,

601 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4813695 Download citation * Published: 10 June 2006 * Issue Date: 10 June 2006 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4813695 SHARE THIS ARTICLE

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