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

Introduction. 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. Materials and methods. The article represents the results of anonymous prospective surveys within the framework of the KNOCAP multi-centered research project aimed at accessing the knowledge on the fundamental issues in diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia. The survey involved 222 students in their fifth- and sixth years in medical institute from Belgorod, Dnepr (Dnipro), Voronezh, Kiev (Kyiv) and Saratov and 110 physicians from Krasnodar, Saratov, Belgorod and Dnepr.Results and discussion. According to the results of the survey, such levels of correct answers were given by doctors and students, respectively: the inadmissibility of antimicrobial therapy (AMT) delay in CAP - 82% and 59%; the main criterion for withholding AMT - 56% and 37%; “sequential therapy” - 61% and 59%. At the same time, only 24% of the students and 23% of the physicians surveyed correctly reported typical mistakes in the treatment of a non-severe CAP with 50% or more accuracy; and in case of initial treatment, the number of correct responses was less than 28% for students and 45% for doctors. Conclusion. The survey showed that both senior medical students majoring in Medical Care and general practitioners had a low level of knowledge in CAP treatment. Hence, curricula need to be adjusted both in medical universities and in health institutions for practitioners in order to inform them and, thus, improve the quality of their knowledge in this field

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 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