FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HOSPITALIZATION OF CHILDREN WITH ACUTE ODONTOGENIC INFECTIONS

The  aim of this study was to compare the sociodemographic and clinical features of odon­togenic infections between hospitalized and non-hospitalized  children and to show what were the risk factors in children that could predict the course of odontogenic infection and indicate the need for hospital treatment. The design of our study was of the case-control type. The two study groups consisted of 70 inpatients and 35 outpatients with odontogenic infections who were treated at Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Department of Maxillofacial Surgery at Clinical Center in Kragujevac, Serbia. Clinical and sociodemographic data were col­lected retrospectively from patients' hospital re­cords. The following characteristics were signifi-cantly associated  with hospital treatment of chil-dren with acute odontogenic infection: li­ving in a village (OR =7.26,[1.43-36.96]), multi-spatial infection (OR =0.04, [0.00-0.91]), and affec­tion of upper face (OR = 0.01, [0.00-0.86]). Tooth extraction was important intervention in the treatment regimen and reduced frequency of hospitalization (OR=0.07, [0.01-0.70]). The dif­ferences between hospitalized and non-hospitali­zed children were not significant in regard to: ethnicity, employment of parents,  anatomical region of infection, side of the facial infection, source of infection (posterior or anterior deci­duous or permanent teeth), and treatment (drai­nage and incision, oral or parenteral antibiotics). In children with acute odontogenic infection it is necessary to do tooth extraction in timely manner, especially if the source of infection is tooth from upper jaw and if it is multi-spatial in­fection.