Assessment of Awareness Regarding Prevention of Infective Endocarditis among Graduating Medical

Abstract

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infection of the endothelial surface of the heart and heart valves with serious, even fatal complications and that often requires long-term treatment. Many dental procedures may lead to IE in high-risk patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the awareness and knowledge of graduating medical and dental students at Qassim University, KSA regarding prevention of infective endocarditis. A questionnaire was administered to the last year medical and dental students. An acceptable level of success in the test was defined as at least 7 correct answers out of 13 (53%). Out of 118 students participating in this study, 65 (47.4%) passed the test successfully. Although the pass-rate of medical students (45/93 or 48.4%) was comparatively higher than that of dental students (11/25 or 44%) the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. This study showed that the knowledge concerning prevention of IE among the dental and medical students was moderate and highlighted the necessity of more education in this field.