SDCEP has published the second edition of its Antibiotic Prophylaxis Against Infective Endocarditis implementation advice.
The updated implementation advice has been developed to provide clear and practical advice for dental teams on how to implement NICE Clinical Guideline 64 (CG64) Prophylaxis against infective endocarditis and provide appropriate care for patients at increased risk of infective endocarditis, with an emphasis on shared decision making.
It aims to help dental teams to:
- identify those patients at high or moderate risk of infective endocarditis
- identify the patients for whom antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended or should be considered
- provide information on prevention of infective endocarditis to these patients
- identify which dental procedures require antibiotic cover
The second edition of the implementation advice has been developed by a broad group of stakeholders that included individuals from relevant branches of the dental profession and other healthcare disciplines, including cardiology, cardiac surgery, pharmacy, and microbiology, with patient representatives.
The dental faculties of the Royal Surgical Colleges have endorsed the implementation advice as a source of reliable, high quality professional advice that promotes the provision of safe and effective oral health care for patients. It is also endorsed by the British Cardiovascular Society, the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery, the British Heart Valve Society and the British Congenital Cardiac Association.
The implementation advice is presented a dedicated website (www.antibioticprophylaxis.sdcep.org.uk) to aid accessibility, navigation and updating. Supporting tools include an aid to support discussions with patients and parents or carers and provide reassurance about their care, a patient information leaflet and glossaries of cardiac and dental terms. Specific advice is provided for cardiac surgery and cardiology teams, and the implementation advice will also be of relevance to pharmacists and other relevant healthcare professionals.
Users of NICE CG64 are directed to the updated SDCEP implementation advice for information on antibiotic prophylaxis for people at high risk of infective endocarditis undergoing dental procedures. Use of the implementation advice is also supported by the Chief Dental Officers of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.