Knowledge and perception of Sepsis among Doctors in Karachi Pakistan

Abstract

Objectives: To assess knowledge and perception among Pakistani physicians towards sepsis.
 Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Indus Hospital and Health Networks from September 2020 to March 2021. The International Sepsis Survey questionnaire was adapted, and its link was sent to trainee physicians as well as specialists, and consultants practicing in various hospitals via social media. Knowledge and perception were scored and 50% was considered the cut-off score for adequacy. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26.
 Results: Analysis was done on 222 respondents who completed the survey. 37.9% of the participants had adequate knowledge. Knowledge regarding sepsis was significantly associated with specialty, ICU/CCU/HDU, and work experience (P-value <0.0001). More recent trainee physicians and those with more experience in critical care areas demonstrated better knowledge. Over 2/3rd of the respondents strongly agreed that sepsis remains one of the unmet needs in critical care today.
 Conclusion: A common belief exists that sepsis remains a challenge to treat among doctors. Moreover, there is consensus that it is the most frequently miss diagnosed condition in critical care and a dire need exists for its early diagnosis. Additionally, prompt management of presumed sepsis is imperative to improve outcomes.
 doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.ICON-2022.5775
 How to cite this:Ahmed F, Abbasi L, Herekar F, Jiwani A, Patel MJ. Knowledge and perception of Sepsis among Doctors in Karachi Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(2):380-386. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.ICON-2022.5775
 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Prompt Identification of Sepsis on Hospital Floors: Are Healthcare Professionals Ready for the Implementation of the Hour-1 Bundle?

“…Our respondents showed a positive attitude towards the SSC, and more than three-fourth of respondents emphasized that a reduction in mortality rate can be observed after implementing the SSC protocol. A similar outcome was reported by Faiza et al, in which more than two thirds of the respondents strongly agreed that sepsis continues to be one of the unmet needs in critical care [ 14 ]. This is in line with the results of a study from China, which showed a significant drop in mortality after the implementation of the protocol in clinical practice [ 11 ].…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first of its kind from Pakistan evaluating the knowledge of physicians on sepsis using indicators of diagnosis and management mentioned in SSC guidelines. Sepsis is the cause of 60–80 percent of fatalities in underdeveloped nations, such as Pakistan, being a significant burden of disease [ 14 ]. The highly disproportionate morbidity and mortality from sepsis in this country may be due to low living standards, poor hygiene, malnutrition, restricted access to healthcare facilities, and structurally weak health systems.…”

“…It necessitates the requirement for practical measures to further expand the degree of awareness of physicians through continuous medical education (CME). For example, a study conducted by Ahmed et al depicted that 37.9% of the participants were having adequate knowledge [ 14 ]; specialty and work experience all substantially predicted knowledge levels regarding sepsis ( p = 0.0001), with medical residents who were more recently trained and those with more critical care experience displaying greater understanding [ 14 ]. Another major outcome of the present study was that the respondents considered sepsis an emergency condition that needs immediate treatment, and they understood the urgency in the resuscitation of critically ill sepsis patients.…”

“…In the present study, the majority of healthcare professionals were aware of the bundle elements to administer broad-spectrum antibiotics, need for blood culture before the antibiotic use, and blood lactate measurement. A similar study revealed that physicians considered bacterial culture to be the best technique for identifying sepsis [ 14 ]. In contrast to the present findings, hemodynamic monitoring was the second best technique for identifying sepsis in other studies [ 14 , 19 ].…”

Contributions to medical literature by Indus Hospital Health Network through Research

“…Early diagnosis and prompt management is the key to improving the outcome. 1 Asthma severity and hospital admissions measured by PRAM score have been discussed by Kazi et al Their conclusions are that this score is the best predictor for the need for hospitalization for these patients suffering from asthma. They have suggested that this should be put to use in clinical practice in paediatric emergency departments.…”