Postextraction bleeding following a fever: a case report

Analytical parameters and vital signs in patients subjected to dental extraction

Background

Dental consultation may provoke stress to the patient, especially when a dental surgery is going to be performed, stressful situations can cause a reaction in the sympathetic nervous system that could lead to cardiovascular alterations. Blood pressure and cardiac frequency are used often as an indirect measurement and this parameters combined can serve as good indicators of stress. Objective: Analyze the changes in vital signs and analytical parameters induced by a dental extraction.

Material and Methods

24 healthy patients who required a simple dental extraction underwent to a blood test and motorization of their pre- and post-extraction vital signs before, at 2 and 48 hours after the procedure. Data analysis was performed by means of repeated measures one way ANOVA followed by multiple comparisons Bonferroni’s Post-hoc test.

Results

The evaluated patients were 13 women and 11 men with an average age of 35.1. Thirteen patients (54.17% of the sample) were smokers and five were regular drinkers (20.8%). No significant differences were observed in the vital signs with the exception of diastolic blood pressure and cardiac rate that were slightly lower after extraction. Only two analytical parameters showed statistical significant changes. Total bilirubin was significantly higher at 48 hours after extraction and leukocyte count was significantly lower at this time. In any case, the magnitude of the changes observed was very low. The analytical parameters and the vital signs did not show any relevant change.

Conclusions

Eventual alterations found after simple tooth extraction should not be attributed to the procedure.

Key words:Blood pressure, heart rate, monitoring physiologic, oxygen saturation, tooth extraction.

Emerging and changing viral diseases in the new millennium

Most viral infections encountered in resource‐rich countries are relatively trivial and transient with perhaps fever, malaise, myalgia, rash (exanthema) and sometimes mucosal manifestations (enanthema), including oral in some. However, the apparent benignity may be illusory as some viral infections have unexpected consequences – such as the oncogenicity of some herpesviruses and human papillomaviruses. Infections are transmitted from various human or animal vectors, especially by close proximity, and the increasing movements of peoples across the globe, mean that infections hitherto confined largely to the tropics now appear worldwide. Global warming also increases the range of movement of vectors such as mosquitoes. Thus recent decades have seen a most dramatic change with the emergence globally also of new viral infections – notably human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) – and the appearance of some other dangerous and sometimes lethal infections formerly seen mainly in, and reported from, resource‐poor areas especially in parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa. This study offers a brief update of the most salient new aspects of the important viral infections, especially those with known orofacial manifestations or other implications for oral health care.