Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Sleep Breath. 2020 Dec;24(4):1581-1590. doi: 10.1007/s11325-020-02040-1. Epub 2020 Feb 24.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked with inflammation, hypertension, and higher cardiovascular risk which cause substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, OSA is underdiagnosed and its prevalence is increasing. Primary care doctors are the first contact for most patients and primary care providers play an important role in promoting, screening, and educating patients regarding OSA. This study aims to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding OSA among primary care doctors in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians who were currently working in primary care clinics in the capital state of Kuala Lumpur. The validated "Obstructive Sleep Apnea Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire" (OSAKA) and nine additional practice questions were used as the survey instrument.
Of 207 physicians queried, the response rate was 100%. The mean (± SD) total knowledge score was 11.6 (± 2.8) (range 1-18). The majority of respondents had a positive attitude towards the importance of OSA but lacked confidence in managing OSA. Primary care doctors' most common practice for patients with suspected OSA was referral to the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) clinic.
The study shows that primary care doctors demonstrated adequate knowledge about OSA and were aware of the importance of OSA as a core clinical problem. However, only a minority felt confident in managing patients with OSA. The results of the study may encourage improvement of primary care doctors' efforts to prevent and manage OSA.
阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）与炎症、高血压和更高的心血管风险有关，这些因素在全球范围内导致了大量的发病率和死亡率。然而，OSA 的诊断不足，其患病率正在增加。初级保健医生是大多数患者的第一接触者，初级保健提供者在促进、筛查和教育患者 OSA 方面发挥着重要作用。本研究旨在确定马来西亚吉隆坡的初级保健医生对 OSA 的知识、态度和实践。
对目前在吉隆坡首都州初级保健诊所工作的医生进行了横断面调查。使用经过验证的“阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停知识和态度问卷”（OSAKA）和另外九个实践问题作为调查工具。
在 207 名被调查的医生中，应答率为 100%。平均（± SD）总分知识得分 11.6（± 2.8）（范围 1-18）。大多数受访者对 OSA 的重要性持积极态度，但对管理 OSA 的信心不足。初级保健医生对疑似 OSA 患者最常见的做法是转诊到耳鼻喉科（ENT）诊所。
研究表明，初级保健医生对 OSA 有足够的了解，并意识到 OSA 作为一个核心临床问题的重要性。然而，只有少数人对管理 OSA 患者有信心。该研究的结果可能会鼓励初级保健医生在预防和管理 OSA 方面做出改进。
