Hasosah Mohammed, Qurashi Mansour, Balkhair Abdullah, Alzahrani Ziyad, Alabbasi Abdullah, Alzahrani Muhanad, Alnahdi Wejdan, Shafei Sohaib, Bafaqih Malak, Khan Muhammad
Pediatric Gastroenterology Department, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), National Guard Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Neoatology Department, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), National Guard Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Jan 21;21(1):68. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02499-w.
Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit upon the host. Knowledge and attitudes of health professionals have been reported to be at a medium level for probiotics. The objective was to evaluate the knowledge and practice styles about probiotics among pediatricians working in different regions of Saudi Arabia.
This cross-sectional study was conducted at pediatric hospitals in Saudi Arabia. A national survey of 550 pediatric providers (PPs) was conducted between January and March 2020 anonymously on their knowledge and practice styles regarding probiotics, and it was completed by pediatric residents (PRs), pediatric specialist (PSs), pediatric consultants (PCs), and pediatric gastroenterologists (PGs).
The survey had a response rate of 82%. Among the respondents, 57.7% were aware of the probiotic's definition. There were significant differences in the percentage of participants who had little knowledge of probiotics (P < 0.05), with the highest being PRs and the lowest being PGs. The most common probiotic used by all participants was Lactobacillus acidophilus (63.3%), and Mycobacterium avium was prescribed the least often (8.6%). Most PRs and PSs correctly reported that probiotics reduce the risk of antibiotic-induced diarrhea (74.9 and 80.2%, respectively), but there were no significant differences among them.
Significant differences in knowledge and practice patterns exist for probiotics. Identification of knowledge gaps may be useful to develop educational materials to improve the proper definition, knowledge, and use of probiotics.
益生菌是一类活的微生物，当给予足够数量时，能给宿主带来健康益处。据报道，健康专业人员对益生菌的知识和态度处于中等水平。目的是评估沙特阿拉伯不同地区儿科医生对益生菌的知识和实践方式。
这项横断面研究在沙特阿拉伯的儿科医院进行。2020年1月至3月，对550名儿科医疗服务提供者（PPs）进行了一项关于他们对益生菌的知识和实践方式的全国性匿名调查，调查对象包括儿科住院医师（PRs）、儿科专科医生（PSs）、儿科顾问医生（PCs）和儿科胃肠病学家（PGs）。
调查的回复率为82%。在受访者中，57.7%的人知道益生菌的定义。对益生菌了解甚少的参与者比例存在显著差异（P < 0.05），其中比例最高的是PRs，最低的是PGs。所有参与者最常用的益生菌是嗜酸乳杆菌（63.3%），而鸟分枝杆菌的处方最少（8.6%）。大多数PRs和PSs正确报告益生菌可降低抗生素相关性腹泻的风险（分别为74.9%和80.2%），但他们之间没有显著差异。
益生菌在知识和实践模式方面存在显著差异。识别知识差距可能有助于开发教育材料，以改善对益生菌的正确定义、知识和使用。
