Page 130 - Demo

Chapter 7128Follow-upOne week after surgery, patients were examined by an independent assessor to assess surgical site wound healing and to check for wound infection. Remaining resorbable sutures were removed. Infection was defined as the presence of purulent discharge and/or excessive swelling with fluctuation, with or without pain; presence of a local abscess; or onset of facial or cervical cellulitis plus other signs suggesting infection, such as pain, increased heat, temperature, erythema, and/or fever [19]. In patients in whom infection was diagnosed, drainage was followed by a 5-day course of amoxicillin three times a day. The number of postoperative visits, type and amount of analgesic, type and dosage of antibiotic, and interventions were documented. The completed OHIP-14 questionnaires and pain scores were collected. Outcome measurementsThe primary outcome measures were the OHIP-14 questionnaire and pain score based on the numeric rating scale (NRS). Each patient was asked to complete a questionnaire in the first 7 days postoperatively. The questionnaire was translated into Dutch, comprising 14 questions to evaluate the OHRQoL on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 (“never”) to 4 (“very often”) [20-21]. Higher scores on the OHIP-14 (range 0-56) indicated a worse OHRQoL. The questionnaire was supplemented with additional questions on analgesic use and postoperative symptoms, such as limited mouth opening, limited chewing, and swelling. The patients were asked to complete the daily OHIP-14 questionnaire, to evaluate pain and analgesic intake at the end of each day. Pain assessment was measured by rating pain intensity with an 11-point NRS, which ranged from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain). The daily analgesic intake was self-reported, by filling in the number of used painkillers on each postoperative day.Data were collected and imported into a database. Variables included patient age, gender, medical history, and smoking habits. Age at surgery was computed in years as the difference between the date of operation and the patient’s date of birth. Furthermore, the location of the treated tooth, surgical flap design, and operation times were recorded.