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. 2022 Sep 12;22(1):398.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-022-02433-6.

Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory efficacy of N-acetyl cysteine in endodontic treatment: a scoping review

Saleem Abdulrab  1   2 , Nawras Mostafa  3 , Sadeq Ali Al-Maweri  4 , Hisham Abada  5 , Esam Halboub  6   7 , Hatem A Alhadainy  8
Affiliations

Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory efficacy of N-acetyl cysteine in endodontic treatment: a scoping review

Saleem Abdulrab et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: This scoping review systematically summarized the available evidence about the efficacy of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) as an intracanal antibacterial and/or anti-inflammatory.

Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google scholar search engines/databases were searched up to February 2022 to retrieve relevant studies. The studies were evaluated for eligibility criteria, and identifying relevant studies.

Results: Out of 193 studies, 15 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were processed for data extraction. Thirteen in vitro studies assessed antibacterial/antibiofilm efficacy of NAC, and reported good and promising efficacy: NAC was found as efficacious as the comparators (chlorhexidine, sodium hypochlorite, calcium hydroxide), or even showed higher efficacy. Regarding the anti-inflammatory efficacy of NAC, one in vitro study found it equivalent to, while one clinical trial revealed it more efficacious than calcium hydroxide.

Conclusions: There is accumulating evidence on the anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory efficacy of NAC in context of endodontics. However, further clinical trials with robust methodology and objective and reliable clinical, biological and microbial outcomes are warranted to translate its use for clinical practice on humans.

Keywords: Endodontic treatment; N-acetyl cysteine; Root canal disinfection; Scoping review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of the screening and selection process adapted from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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