Abstract

ESCALANTE B, Nancy B. Hepatits C: ¿Es adecuado el nivel de conocimiento entre médicos residentes e internos?. Gen [online]. 2008, vol.62, n.3, pp.186-190. ISSN 0016-3503.

Objetive: Hepatitis C is a serious public health problem, both nationally and worldwide. The objective of this study was to assess basic knowledge of Internal Medicine Residents and Interns on factors, screening, diagnosis and management of Hepatitis C,. Method: We administered a questionnaire to 54 Internal Medicine Residents and Interns at 4 hospitals in the city of Maracaibo, as well as 31 specialists (internal medicine, hematology and gastroenterology). Results: More than half of the Interns and residents (61.6%) never asked their patients for risk factors for hepatitis C. Most of the participants identified high risk factors such as IV drug use, transfusions in 1982 and multiple sexual contacts. However, 66.6% over -estimated risk factors such as infant born to HCV infected mother, and 90.7% overestimated monogamous sexual contact. Only 30.5% of the participants reported screening for hepatitis C in patients with elevated ALT, and referral to a specialist was very low (24. Furthermore, 48.1% lacked knowledge on current therapy for hepatitis C. Conclusions: There is an inappropiate knowledge among Internal Medicine Residents and Interns with respect to risk factors. These findings may suggest that a significant proportion of patients with hepatitis C may remain undiagnosed, despite receiving medical care. There is confusion regarding management and decision making. To overcome these deficiencies, more interactive oriented ,educational activities , focusing on risk factors and management of hepatitis C, are needed and should be available in teaching programs to facilitate diagnosis in a presymptomatic stage of the disease.

Keywords : Hepatitis C; survey; medical education.