PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - P.M Prapa
AU  - I. Nikolopoulos
AU  - P. Kythreotis
AU  - Konstantinos Gourgoulianis
TI  - Health care professionals's knowledges of OSAHS's diagnosis
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - p2843
VI  - 38
IP  - Suppl 55
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p2843.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p2843.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS), an increasingly well-recognized disease, requires early diagnosis to improve quality of life and prevent its complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of Health Care Professionals' in relation to OSAHS.Methods: A questionnaire was designed to explore HCPs knowledge to identify OSAHS. It was completed by Respiratory Physicians in a Pulmonary Department, by General Practitioners in Primary Care Center and by Primary Care Physicians.A panel of Respiratory Physicians evaluated the answers.Results: A total of 138 HCPs completed the survey, (53,6% Respiratory Physicians (n=74), 18,8% General Practitioners (n=26), 27,5% Primary Care Physicians (n=38).The HCP's education on OSAHS was at University (33,4%), Post graduate (1,4%), Medical literature (66,7%), day-to-day practice (53,6%) and medical residency (60,9%).The correct answers were for:Clinical symptoms: Snoring 78,2%, daytime sleepiness 87%, morning headaches 58% and nocturia 20,3%Complications: hypertension, 73,9%, chronic pulmonary heart disease 43.5% andClinical features: obesity 79,7%, large neck circumference 42%.Logistic regression analysis revealed that physicians who acquired their knowledge in their day-to-day practice on OSAHS were more likely to answer correct question concerning clinical symptoms (OR=13.12,95%CI: 2.94-58.41, p<0.001) complications (OR=5.73, 95%CI: 2.31-14.23, p<0.001) and clinical features (OR=12.69, 95%CI: 4.87-33.07, p<0.001).Conclusion: Following this study; education sessions must been introduced in all education level in an attempt to improve the identification of this disorder and to allow the Physicians to take part in the management of OSAHS.