Residents and interns in the 3 university hospitals: their knowledge of and attitudes to drug allergy

Pınar Gökmirza Özdemir; Özgür Kızılca; Hakan Aylanç; Velat Çelik; Burçin Beken; Simge Dilan Akbulut; Mehtap Yazıcıoğlu; Necdet Süt

doi:10.5415/apallergy.2020.10.e31

Residents and interns in the 3 university hospitals: their knowledge of and attitudes to drug allergy

Asia Pac Allergy. 2020 Jul 23;10(3):e31. doi: 10.5415/apallergy.2020.10.e31. eCollection 2020 Jul.

Authors

Pınar Gökmirza Özdemir¹, Özgür Kızılca², Hakan Aylanç³, Velat Çelik¹, Burçin Beken¹, Simge Dilan Akbulut⁴, Mehtap Yazıcıoğlu¹, Necdet Süt⁵

Affiliations

¹ Trakya University Medical Faculty, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Department, Edirne, Turkey.
² Namik Kemal University Medical Faculty, Pediatrics Department, Tekirdag, Turkey.
³ Canakkale 18 Mart University Medical Faculty, Pediatrics Department, Canakkale, Turkey.
⁴ Trakya University Medical Faculty, 6th Grade Medical Student, Edi̇rne, Turkey.
⁵ Trakya University Medical Faculty, Biostatistics Department, Edirne, Turkey.

Abstract

Background: Previous studies revealed there are many gaps in the awareness and knowledge regarding the diagnosis and management of drug allergy (DA) among various health-care professionals.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards DA among residents and interns of 3 university hospitals in the region of Trakya (Thrace), Turkey.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at university hospitals of 3 cities in the Trakya region: 1. Trakya University Medical Faculty, Edirne (n = 405), 2. Namik Kemal University Medical Faculty, Tekirdag (n = 114), and 3. Canakkale 18 Mart University Medical Faculty, Canakkale (n = 111). A Turkish questionnaire was developed based on previous published studies.

Results: The majority of participants (67%) had not received education on DA as a separate subject during their medical education. Less than a third (28.3%) of all respondents were satisfied with their knowledge concerning patients with clinical signs of DA. Of the 6 knowledge questions on DA, the average score for the study was 3.51 out of 6 (58.5%). Residents had a higher knowledge score (3.93 ± 1.1) compared with interns (3.05 ± 1.2) (p < 0.001). The lowest percentage of correct answers were in response to questions on laboratory confirmation of drug-related anaphylaxis (14.5%) and the possibility of penicillin toleration in patients with a history of penicillin allergy (11.8%). The majority of participants (92%) believe that medical doctors should be educated in DA. There were no significant correlations between taking DA histories and the frequency during daily practice of encountering patients.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that DA knowledge and attitudes are not at satisfactory level among respondents, and we concluded the importance and necessity of reinforcement of DA education in pre- and postgraduate education of medical doctors.

Keywords: Awareness; Drug allergy; Interns; Knowledge; Medical education; Residents.