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

BMC Oral Health

Research

Mengli Wang¹  Weiyi Pan¹  Yuxin Xu¹  Qianting Wang¹  Wen Fang¹ 

[1] Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, 310000, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China;

关键词: Periodontitis;    COVID-19;    Loss to follow-up;    Retrospective study;    Phone-call survey;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12903-023-03539-1

 received in 2023-07-19, accepted in 2023-10-13,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCOVID-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.MethodsA 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.ResultsA 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.ConclusionThis 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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