Determining knowledge of antimicrobial therapy in senior medical students (results of the KANT-IV project)

Abstract

Objective. To determine the level of basic knowledge of 5–6-year medical students in the issues of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Materials and Methods. A multicenter questionnaire survey with analysis of results – stage of KANT project (full name of the project – «Physicians’ (Students’) knowledge in antimicrobials usage») conducted in 2020-2023. Results. A total of 277 students in 6 regions of Russia were surveyed. The average level of correct answers for the whole questionnaire amounted to 42.2%, taking into account the extended analysis of sub-items questions #8,9 – 42.6%. The respondents were best able to answer the questionnaire questions about the choice of time interval during which the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy is assessed (average level of completeness of the answer – 90.6%); the choice of the most rational action when diagnosing acute tonsillitis or pharyngitis at the appointment (average level of completeness of the answer – 57.8%); indication of the regimen of different AMD (average level of completeness of the answer – 55.2%). The worst results were recorded when answering the following questions: justification of the situation of prolongation of antimicrobial therapy (AMT) for more than 5-7 days in a patient with positive clinical dynamics in the treatment of outpatient pneumonia (average level of completeness of the answer – 19.5%), indication of AMD of choice in the therapy of various infections (average level of completeness of the answer – 22.9%), prescription of auxiliary drugs to the justified prescription of AMD in the treatment of respiratory tract infections (average level of completeness of the answer – 21.3%). Conclusions. Having researched the results of this study, we can conclude that the level of knowledge of senior medical students in rational antibiotic therapy is quite low. In this regard, according to the authors, it is necessary to allocate an additional number of academic hours in the disciplines of «Pharmacology», «Clinical Pharmacology», specialized therapeutic disciplines, to optimize the educational program, as well as to provide students with modern sources of information that relate to the topic of rational antimicrobial therapy.