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Avaliação do Conhecimento dos Médicos e das Práticas de Seguimento de Doentes com Síndrome de Apneia Obstrutiva do Sono sob Ventiloterapia nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários
Assessment of Physicians’ Knowledge and Follow-Up Practices for Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Under Ventilotherapy in Primary Health Care
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Inês Freitas [inesfreitasmgf@gmail.com]
Rua da Lagoa, 4460-352, Sra. da Hora, Matosinhos, Portugal
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic disease with significant morbimortality. This study aimed at evaluating the follow-up of patients with OSA treated with ventilotherapy in primary care (PC) and physicians’ knowledge about the matter.
METHODS: Descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was applied to a sample of PC doctors. Questions regarded demographic features of the physicians, their knowledge of the clinical practice guideline (CPG) number 022/2014, clinical information provided at the time of hospital consultation discharge and collected during follow-up consultations in PC. Descriptive and inferential analysis of the data were performed.
RESULTS: The survey response rate of 41.4%.Among the physicians surveyed, 43.4% indicated they were aware of the CPG content, and 50.9% conducted at least one follow-up consultation annually. The majority asked questions about symptoms related to OSA to at least 75% of the patients. While 32% of doctors accessed ventilotherapy report information in more than 50% of consultations, 17% reported no access whatsoever.
CONCLUSION: The study revealed weaknesses in the follow-up of patients with OSA treated with ventilotherapy. As the sample size in this study is limited, more studies are required to obtain more solid results that can be extrapolated. Carrying out educational sessions may be valuable to optimize the follow-up of these patients in PC.
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