Emergency Care and Professional Ethics
This domain tests recognition and first-line management of medical emergencies in the dental chair, plus consent, confidentiality, competence and record keeping. The exam expects calm, sequenced action and appropriate referral.
Medical emergencies
- Syncope causes pallor, sweating, bradycardia and hypotension; lay the patient flat, raise the legs, give oxygen and monitor. Recovery is usually rapid.
- Anaphylaxis causes urticaria, angioedema, bronchospasm and hypotension; give intramuscular epinephrine, oxygen and call emergency services. Do not confuse it with syncope.
- Hypoglycaemia causes sweating, tremor and confusion; give oral glucose if conscious, IV dextrose if not. Asthma is treated with salbutamol; angina with rest and nitroglycerin; suspected myocardial infarction needs aspirin, oxygen and urgent transfer.
Ethics and professionalism
- Obtain valid informed consent: capacity, information, understanding and voluntariness. Maintain confidentiality except where disclosure is required by law or risk.
- Work within competence and refer when needed. Keep contemporaneous records. Follow Kuwait MOH regulations and infection-control standards.
Worked example
A patient collapses immediately after a local anaesthetic injection. Reasoning: pallor and bradycardia suggest vasovagal syncope. Lay the patient supine, raise the legs, give oxygen and monitor. If there were urticaria, wheeze or hypotension, anaphylaxis would be more likely and intramuscular epinephrine would be indicated.
Traps that cost marks
Do not give epinephrine for simple syncope. Do not delay emergency services for a suspected myocardial infarction. Do not treat without consent except in a life-threatening emergency. Do not document retrospectively. Do not practise beyond your scope.