Evaluation of knowledge on medical emergency care in two schools of dentistry in Peru

Introduction: Emergencies are circumstances of sudden onset that can occur during dental care and can compromise the patient’s life; therefore, it is necessary to have knowledge about its diagnosis and primary treatment to stabilize the patient. Objective: To determine the level of knowledge about medical emergency care in dental students from two Peruvian universities. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study that included 134 students from 7th to 10th cycle from the Científica del Sur University and the Norbert Wiener University was conducted. Knowledge of medical emergency care was evaluated considering 3 dimensions: diagnosis, first aid, and pharmacological treatment. The evaluation was carried out using a previously validated questionnaire. Results:Thegenerallevelofknowledgeonmedicalemergency care in both universities was regular, with 69.8 % of students from Científica del Sur University and 53.5 % of students from Norbert Wiener University; however, there was a significant difference between both universities (p = 0.034). Likewise, a significant difference was observed in the knowledge about diagnosis in favor of the Científica del Sur University (p<0.05), but no differences were found when first aid knowledge and pharmacological treatment were assessed (P>0.05). Conclusions: The overall level of knowledge on medical emergency care in dental students at Científica del Sur University and Norbert Wiener University was predominantly fair.