Dengue knowledge and its management practices among physicians of major cities of Pakistan

• Published in: Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association Vol. 65; no. 4; p. 392
• Main Authors: Rafique, Ibrar, Saqib, Muhammad Arif Nadeem, Munir, Muhammad Arif, Siddiqui, Shajee, Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed, Rao, Masood Hussain, Ahmed, Jamil, Bashir, Saira, Khan, Obaidullah, Firdous, Rukhsana, Ahmed, Shafiq
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pakistan Knowledge Bylanes 30.04.2015
• Subjects: Adult; Clinical Competence - standards; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dengue - diagnosis; Dengue - therapy; Dengue fever; Disease Management; Female; Health Care Surveys; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Hospitalists - standards; Hospitalists - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Leukocyte Count - methods; Male; Medical practice; Needs Assessment; Pakistan; Patient Discharge - standards; Physicians; Private Sector - statistics & numerical data; Public Sector - statistics & numerical data; Severe Dengue - diagnosis; Severe Dengue - therapy; Surveys and Questionnaires; Pakistan; Dengue, Physicians, Knowledge
• ISSN: 0030-9982

To assess knowledge and practices related to dengue management among physicians. The cross-sectional study was conducted at hospitals in Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi between June and December 2012Physicians from public and private sectors filled a self-administered questionnaire about dengue knowledge and its management practices. A maximum score of 100 was assigned to the knowledge portion. Data was analysed using SPSS 15. A total of 400 subjects participated in the study; 200(50%) each from public and private hospitals. Of them, 223(56%) were males; 268(67%) were in the 21-30 years age bracket. The highest score was recorded in Quetta 67 followed by 65 in Karachi, 62 in Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar and 59 in Islamabad. Of the total, 200 (50%) were not aware that leucopenia is a criterion for diagnosing probable dengue. Similarly 140 (35%) did not know the criteria for diagnosing dengue haemorrhagic fever and warning signs of severe dengue. Total of 204 (51%) were not aware of the criteria for discharging of the admitted cases. There was no significant difference between dengue knowledge of the physicians belonging to public and private sectors (p>0.05). Quite a large number of physicians lacked knowledge of probable diagnosis of dengue and appropriate time to discharge the patients.