Impact of COVID-19 on patient follow-up during supportive periodontal therapy : a retrospective study based on phone call survey

© 2023. The Author(s)..

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 and the subsequent intermittent lockdown measures from 2020 to 2022 in China critically disrupted regular medical activities, including dental care. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on long-term follow-up at the Stomatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and to evaluate potential causes of loss to follow-up.

METHODS: A total of 1062 patients with periodontitis who visited the hospital from January 2019 to June 2022 were included in this study, and patient information was collected retrospectively in the form of a telephone questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 19 questions in four areas: demographic characteristics, clinical periodontal parameters, oral hygiene habits, and follow-up-related open-ended questions (specific reasons for loss to follow-up, attitudes toward follow-up and suggestions for increasing participation in future follow-ups). Regression analysis of factors influencing the follow-up of patients with periodontitis were analyzed by regression analysis using R (v4.2.3) software.

RESULTS: A total of 536 (50.47%) valid questionnaires were collected from 1062 patients. Personal factors (42.5%), instead of the COVID-19 epidemic (20.0%), were the main factors that impacted the loss to follow-up in long-term periodontal treatment, while work factors (19.8%), hospital factors (16.4%), and transportation or distance factors (14.7%) were all important factors. A family history of periodontitis [odds ratio (OR) = 0.567, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.393, 0.817, p = 0.002], as well as frequent use of dental devices (OR = 0.540, 95% CI: 0.375, 0.777, p = 0.001), were significantly associated with a "negative" attitude toward follow-up visits.

CONCLUSION: This survey suggests that the COVID-19 epidemic factor was an important cause contributed to the loss to follow-up during supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) among a variety of potential factors. Majority of patients had negative attitudes toward subsequent continued participation in supportive care.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:23

Enthalten in:

BMC oral health - 23(2023), 1 vom: 28. Okt., Seite 811

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Wang, Mengli [VerfasserIn]
Xu, Yuxin [VerfasserIn]
Fang, Wen [VerfasserIn]
Pan, Weiyi [VerfasserIn]
Wang, Qianting [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

COVID-19
Journal Article
Loss to follow-up
Periodontitis
Phone-call survey
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Retrospective study

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 30.10.2023

Date Revised 31.10.2023

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1186/s12903-023-03539-1

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM363907718