The role of antibiotic prophylaxis for invasive dental procedures in patients on dialysis therapy is unclear. We examined current clinical practice in Australia and New Zealand and compared our findings to a systematic review of the current literature.

Australian and New Zealand nephrology units were surveyed with regard to their use of antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures. A systematic review of the literature was performed by using an online web-based search engine (PubMed) using the key words: renal patients, dental and antibiotic prophylaxis.

Forty-one per cent of respondents do not routinely give antibiotic prophylaxis to haemodialysis patients prior to dental surgery, but a majority (53%) would consider antibiotic prophylaxis if the patient had a synthetic arteriovenous fistula.

The majority of clinicians follow the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines with a single oral preoperative dose of 2 g amoxycillin or 600 mg clindamycin if patients are allergic to penicillin. From the literature and the data obtained by questionnaire, it would appear that renal patients receiving haemodialysis in Australia and New Zealand receive antibiotic prophylaxis prior to invasive dental procedures. The standard single dose of 2 g amoxycillin orally or 600 mg clindamycin orally 1 h preoperatively, as recommended by the AHA, is most frequently used. Peritoneal dialysis patients generally do not receive a prophylactic dose of antibiotics.