TY - JOUR
T1 - A Case-Finding Protocol for High Cardiovascular Risk in a Primary Care Dental School—Model with Integrated Care
AU - Doble, Amazon
AU - Bescos, Raul
AU - Witton, Robert
AU - Shivji, Shabir
AU - Ayres, Richard
AU - Brookes, Zoë
PY - 2023/3/11
Y1 - 2023/3/11
N2 - Background: National Health Service (NHS) strategies in the United Kingdom (UK) have highlighted the need to maximise case-finding opportunities by improving coverage in non-traditional settings with the aim of reducing delayed diagnosis of non-communicable diseases. Primary care dental settings may also help to identify patients. Methods: Case-finding appointments took place in a primary care dental school. Measurements of blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, glucose and QRisk were taken along with a social/medical history. Participants with high cardiometabolic risk were referred to their primary care medical general practitioner (GP) and/or to local community health self-referral services, and followed up afterwards to record diagnosis outcome. Results: A total of 182 patients agreed to participate in the study over a 14-month period. Of these, 123 (67.5%) attended their appointment and two participants were excluded for age. High blood pressure (hypertension) was detected in 33 participants, 22 of whom had not been previous diagnosed, and 11 of whom had uncontrolled hypertension. Of the hypertensive individuals with no previous history, four were confirmed by their GP. Regarding cholesterol, 16 participants were referred to their GP for hypercholesterolaemia: 15 for untreated hypercholesterolaemia and one for uncontrolled hypercholesterolaemia. Conclusions: Case-finding for hypertension and identifying cardiovascular risk factors has high acceptability in a primary dental care setting and supported by confirmational diagnoses by the GP.
AB - Background: National Health Service (NHS) strategies in the United Kingdom (UK) have highlighted the need to maximise case-finding opportunities by improving coverage in non-traditional settings with the aim of reducing delayed diagnosis of non-communicable diseases. Primary care dental settings may also help to identify patients. Methods: Case-finding appointments took place in a primary care dental school. Measurements of blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, glucose and QRisk were taken along with a social/medical history. Participants with high cardiometabolic risk were referred to their primary care medical general practitioner (GP) and/or to local community health self-referral services, and followed up afterwards to record diagnosis outcome. Results: A total of 182 patients agreed to participate in the study over a 14-month period. Of these, 123 (67.5%) attended their appointment and two participants were excluded for age. High blood pressure (hypertension) was detected in 33 participants, 22 of whom had not been previous diagnosed, and 11 of whom had uncontrolled hypertension. Of the hypertensive individuals with no previous history, four were confirmed by their GP. Regarding cholesterol, 16 participants were referred to their GP for hypercholesterolaemia: 15 for untreated hypercholesterolaemia and one for uncontrolled hypercholesterolaemia. Conclusions: Case-finding for hypertension and identifying cardiovascular risk factors has high acceptability in a primary dental care setting and supported by confirmational diagnoses by the GP.
UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064959
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph20064959
DO - 10.3390/ijerph20064959
M3 - Article
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 20
SP - 4959
EP - 4959
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 6
ER -