Obstetricians' Knowledge and Practices about Prediction, Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Preeclampsia

Abstract

Objectives: Preeclampsia (P.E) and Eclampsia are hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that complicate 2-8 % of pregnancies globally. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy constitute one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality worldwide. The incidence of Preeclampsia in Lebanon was estimated at 2.84%. This study aimed primarily to evaluate the knowledge and practices of Lebanese obstetricians and secondary to identify the factors associated with these scales. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between September and December 2020 in obstetricians’ clinics of different healthcare institutions.Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) preeclampsia 2020 guidelines. In private clinics, the investigator visited the medical doctor. Each doctor agreed to participate in the research, signed the consent form, and filled out the distributed questionnaire without any intervention from the investigators. In the hospitals, the questionnaires were distributed to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. Results: In this study, 95 doctors were recruited. The practice score of more than half of the 95 doctors (54.7%) is low. The mean of their knowledge score (14.5) is higher than the mean of their practice score (8.5). Almost all doctors have a high knowledge score (96.8%), but more than half of them have poor practice scores (54.7%). A linear regression showed that the knowledge score decreased for doctors who live in Bekaa. A second linear regression showed that the practice score decreased for doctors who live in Bekaa (p=0.001). However, training on preeclampsia (p<0.001) increased the practice score. A third linear regression showed that the total score decreased for doctors living in Bekaa (p<0.001). However, having a board certificate (p=0.03) and training in preeclampsia (p=0.008) increased the total score. Conclusion: Different continuous medical education activities should be available widely and mandatory for all working doctors to improve their knowledge and practice towards preeclampsia. Preeclampsia can be fatal and every single maternal life should count.