Mismatch of corneal specialists’ expectations and keratoconus knowledge in general ophthalmologists - a prospective observational study in Switzerland

BMC Medical Education

卷:21

Oliver A. Pfaeffli¹  Katja C. Iselin¹  Claude Kaufmann²  Philipp B. Baenninger²  Michael A. Thiel²  Lucas M. Bachmann²  Gerd Gigerenzer³ 

[1] Department of Ophthalmology, Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne;

[2] Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich;

[3] Max Planck Institute for Human Development;

关键词: Medical education;    minimal knowledge;    keratoconus;    general ophthalmologist;    mismatch;    interview survey;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-021-02738-0

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background To assess whether Swiss general ophthalmologists have the minimal keratoconus knowledge that corneal specialists would expect them to have. Methods Corneal specialists defined “minimal keratoconus knowledge” (MKK) with respect to definition, risk factors, symptoms and possible treatment options of keratoconus. A telephone interview survey was conducted among one hundred ophthalmologists (mean age 51.9 years (SD 9.5), 60 % male) from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. For each participant, years of work experience, number of keratoconus patients seen per year and access to a topography device were obtained. We calculated the proportion of MKK and examined in multivariate analyses whether ophthalmologists with access to topography and with greater work experience performed better than other groups. Results No single ophthalmologist had MKK. The mean MKK was 52.0 %, and the range was 28.6–81.0 %. Per 10 years of working in private practice, the MKK decreased by 8.1 % points (95 % CI: -14.2, -2.00; p = 0.01). Only 24 % of participants correctly recalled the definition of keratoconus, 9 % all risk factors, 5 % all symptoms and 20 % all treatment modalities. The MKK values were not associated with the number of keratoconus patients seen per year and the availability of topography to diagnose keratoconus. Conclusions There is a substantial mismatch between corneal specialist’ expectations and general ophthalmologists’ knowledge about keratoconus. The low recall of symptoms and risk factors may explain why ophthalmologists diagnose relatively few cases of keratoconus, resulting in inefficient care delivery and delayed intervention.

【 授权许可】

Unknown