Knowledge and perceptions of residents regarding case management of acute diarrhea
Patwari, A.K.; Anand, V.; Kumar, H.; Aneja, S.; Mullick, D.
Indian Pediatrics 28(8): 887-892
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-6061 PMID: 1808076 Document Number: 319695
114 interns, 126 house physicians, and 90 postgraduate medical students working in pediatric departments of 24 medical colleges in India completed and returned a questionnaire on diarrhea, oral rehydration therapy (ORT), and case management to the Diarrhea Training and Treatment Centre in New Delhi. 20.2%, 19.1%, and 18.9% respectively did not know the signs of dehydration. Further only 19.3%, 23.8%, and 35.5% respectively knew the particulars of the National Control of Diarrheal Diseases Programme. Overall knowledge of ORT was limited. For example, only 68.4%, 66.6%, and 71.1% respectively knew the composition of oral rehydration solution (ORS). Further only 21%, 23.8%, and 23.3% respectively knew how much and what to feed children during and after diarrhea. Moreover only 63.1%, 57.1%, and 62.2% respectively knew how to calculate how much ORS to give to replace fluids. Significantly more interns knew that ORS should be used to treat moderate diarrhea (82.4% vs. 64.4%; p.005) and in cases with vomiting (64.9% vs. 51.1%; p.05) than postgraduate students. Furthermore only 29.8% of interns and 36.5% of house physicians did not favor prescribing medications to satisfy mothers. On the other hand, most postgraduate students (60%) did not favor this. These results reflect the deficiency in training of proper diarrhea case management in undergraduate and postgraduate settings. Therefore medical schools and teaching hospitals need to incorporate correct diarrhea case management into their curricula as well as give it high priority, especially since diarrhea related morbidity and mortality among children 5 years old is so high in India.