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| 2010-22 |
| 22-1 |
ISSN (Print) 1013-9052
EISSN 1658-3558
The Saudi Dental Journal,
P.O. Box 52500,
Riyadh 11563,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
P.O. Box 52500,
Riyadh 11563,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| Tel. |
966-1-467-7328 |
| Fax. |
933-1-467-7308 / 966-1-467-7534 |
| Email |
saudidj@ksu.edu.sa |
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Validation of self-reported medical history data in dental charts
Dr. Barry L. Stewart, BSc, LDS, MDSc, FRACDS
The purpose of this study was to assess the completeness and validity of medical and demographic data in dental charts in Northwest Armed Forces Hospitals (NWAFH) by comparing them to data abstracted from medical records. Demographic and medical data were abstracted from 246 randomly selected, dental charts and the corresponding medical charts. Ten percent of the charts were re-examined to assess the reliability of examiners. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of the medical history recorded in dental charts were calculated. Reliability in chart abstracting was high (kappa > 0.9). Agreement on demographic data between dental and medical charts were moderate (kappa = 0.64). Sensitivity of medical conditions in dental charts was low in conditions such as hepatitis B, blood transfusion, high blood pressure and renal disease, and was substantial for diabetes and anaemia. Specificity was very high for almost all the conditions, and positive predictive value was low for anaemia (0.38), blood transfusion (0.25) and high blood pressure (0.5). The low sensitivity of self-reported medical history could be attributed to patients' ignorance of their medical conditions and/or their probable tendency to conceal information in order to avoid delays in dental care. The high specificity could be explained by the very small number of sick persons who seek dental care in NWAFH. The results indicated that, although the number of patients apparently concealing their medical conditions was small, the nature of these conditions could lead to potentially harmful sequelae during or after dental treatment. Therefore, dentists should not rely completely on self-reported medical history but ideally have access to patients' medical records or database when available.
Saudi Dental Journal 2003;15(1):33-37.
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