Physicians' knowledge and practice attitudes toward infective endocarditis antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the physicians' knowledge and practice attitudes toward the infective endocarditis antibiotics prophylaxis guidelines in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, to determine whether there is knowledge-to-practice discrepancy.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered questionnaire. A questionnaire was distributed among physicians dealing with congenital heart disease patients in Saudi Arabia, from January 7, 2016 to August 30, 2016. The questionnaire designed to calculate three scores: a knowledge score, a practice score, and a knowledge-to-practice discrepancy score. A test was used for a mean comparison between the three scores and a Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation.

RESULTS

A total of 121 physicians completed the survey. The respondents were predominantly pediatric cardiologists (84%). The mean knowledge score for infective endocarditis prophylaxis in various cardiac lesions was 8.6 ± 3.2 SD out of 14, and the mean practice score was 7.6 ± 3 SD out of 14. The mean discrepancy score was 1.1 ± 3 SD. There was a positive significant correlation between knowledge and discrepancy scores,  = 0.533,  = 121,  = 0.001, using Pearson correlation analysis. Almost 39% of our population had a discrepancy score of +1 or more.

CONCLUSIONS

The knowledge about antibiotics prophylaxis of infective endocarditis in various cardiac lesions was less than optimal. Even in the presence of knowledge, there is a practice-to-knowledge discrepancy, with an overprescribing attitude for low-risk cardiac lesions that correlates significantly with more knowledgeable physicians. We recommend that physicians be up-to-date and follow the most recent guidelines.