Management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by non- respiratory physicians of Beijing

Abstract

Objective To investigate the awareness of non-respiratory physicians to the diagnosis and medical treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods A cross- sectional study was conducted in 370 non- respiratory physicians from 9 hospitals of Beijing. All the subjects were required to complete a self- administrated questionnaire. Chi- square test and analysis of variance were used for data analysis. Results The physicians in the first-grade hospitals had lower awareness of COPD than those in the second- or third-grade hospitals(57.5±17.1, 67.1±15.0 and 68.9±13.6, respectively; F=18.75, P<0.05). Moreover, the residency and attending physicians were found to have lower awareness of COPD than chief physicians(61.4 ± 12.9, 61.4 ± 15.0 and 79.3 ± 13.2, respectively; F=34.82, P<0.05). Conclusion The medical knowledge on the management of COPD might be poor among non-respiratory physicians in Beijing. Primary healthcare workers and non- respiratory physicians should pursue intensive COPD training in the furture. Key words: Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Questionnaire; Non-respiratory physicians