Community-acquired pneumonia: the assessment of the physicians’ basic knowledge. Current results of the KNOCAP project

Background. To date, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains the most important medical and social problem. This is primarily attributable to the high incidence rates (about 700 thousand cases per year) and mortality (standardized mortality rate was 23.2 cases per 100 thousand population) in the Russian Federation. Objective. The assessment of the level of basic knowledge on the prevention, diagnosis and basic treatment of CAP among medical practitioners (general practitioners, therapists) using the anonymous questionnaire survey. Methods. Within the framework of the multicentre KNOCAP (The assessment of physicians ’knowledge of community-acquired pneumonia basics) study, the article presents the results of a prospective anonymous questionnaire survey assessing the knowledge and preferences of physicians in the field of CAP pharmacotherapy. For the current period of the project (2017-2019), the results of a survey of 429 medical practitioners from 11 centers of Russia and Ukraine were obtained and analyzed. The anonymous questionnaire survey was used in this study, and an original questionnaire was developed based on current clinical guidelines. Results. The greatest difficulties were caused by such «fundamental» questions as the choice of the main diagnostic sign during examination of CAP patient, the terms for the repeated x-ray examination with positive dynamics of CAP treatment, the choice of starting antimicrobial therapy. In general, the study has showed a significant discrepancy between the doctors’ knowledge on the management of CAP patients and the current clinical guidelines 2010 and the draft new clinical guidelines 2018-2019. Conclusion. Currently, there is a huge reserve for optimizing the medical practitioners’ knowledge; a multicenter research of the knowledge and preferences of specialists has revealed their insufficient level of knowledge in a number of issues related to the correct management of CAP patients.

community-acquired pneumonia, clinical guidelines, pharmacotherapy, level of knowledge, pharmacoepidemiology