Comparative assessment of physicians’ and senior medical students’ basic knowledge in treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common pathologies of the respira-tory system. This disease ranks third in the group of the main causes of death in the world. The effective treatment of COPD has been developed by today. However, a significant part of physicians has an insufficient amount of education in this matter

Assessment of physicians’ and senior medical students’ knowledge in treatment of patients with community-acquired pneumonia: Current results of the KNOCAP project

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains one of the most acute problems of bronchopulmonary pathology being the 4th in the mortality structure (after cardiovascular, cerebrovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms) and the 1st among all fatalities from infectious diseases. Thanks to the scientific progress achieved in the antibiotic therapy and vaccine prophylaxis, the death toll has decreased four times compared to its rate during the “pre-antibiotic era“. However, nowadays there is a steadily increasing trend in the pneumonia mortality rate in Russia. The only possible way to increase efficacy of CAP treatment is timely initiated rational antibiotic therapy, considering the possible etiologies, risk factors and the severity of the patient’s condition

Assessment of senior medical care majors’ knowledge in antimicrobial chemotherapy

Introduction: The resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobials has been gradually increasing since 2011 and is now recognized by the World Health Organization as a global biological threat. Causes of antimicrobial resistance must be actively addressed. Healthcare workers’ awareness of rational antimicrobial prescribing practices is of great importance. The increasing relevance of this issue is considered within this study, which started in 2014. Materials and methods: The article represents the results of anonymous prospective surveys within the framework of the KANT multi-centered research project aimed at assessing students’ knowledge of rational antimicrobial prescribing practices also known as “antimicrobial stewardship”. The survey involved 309 Medical Care majors in their fifth- and sixth- years in two Russian regional centers: Belgorod and Voronezh. The answers to four main questions of the survey were analyzed in this work. Results and discussion: According to the survey, 51.5% of the respondents properly identified a pharmacological group of an antimicrobial; 79.3% of the students would change an antibiotic if the desired therapeutic outcome was not achieved within two or three days of treatment; 29.8% of the students believed that an antimicrobial substitution was required even when a positive therapeutic outcome was achieved; and nobody could correctly identify all the proposed pharmacologically irrational combinations of antimicrobials. Conclusions: The survey showed that senior medical students have insufficient knowledge in antimicrobial stewardship. Appropriate use of antibiotics and antimicrobial prescribing practices need to be considered more thoroughly in Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Medical Care curricula. Likewise, educational activities on antimicrobial stewardship and best prescribing practices are of great importance for students as they will help with improving the knowledge of future doctors

Assessment of physicians’ and medical majors’ knowledge of asthma basics: Current results of the ASSA-II study

Introduction: Bronchial asthma is a disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways. At present, about 235-300 million people suffer from asthma, and this number continues to grow. This pathology is also common in children. It causes significant social and economic damage worldwide. Severe forms of asthma are difficult to treat. Thus, a continuous improvement of doctors’ knowledge in this field is of great importance. Methods: The analysis of an anonymous survey of physicians and senior medical students was used in the research. Results: The study revealed both an average level of basic knowledge in asthma etiology and pathogenesis among the physicians and senior medical students and the significant differences in their knowledge regarding clinical picture and treatment of asthma. Only 49.2% of students and 56.0% of doctors were able to choose the correct definition of asthma from the suggested answers; 65.7% of students and 69.9% of doctors correctly indicated the main clinical and laboratory markers of asthma; 60.2% of students and 91.0% of doctors determined the correct combination of drugs in one delivery device; and 75.9% of students and 91.2% of doctors selected the correct basic asthma therapy depending on the severity. Conclusion: Basing on the results obtained it was recommended to introduce additional educational activities on the diagnosis and therapy of asthma among medical majors and physicians