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Alrayah M, Alzahrani R, Alghamdi MA, Alghamdi KM, Almutairi FF, Alghamdi AA, Alzahrani RA, Bajaber TA, Alanazi TF, Alnafisah HA. Assessment of the Current Knowledge and Practice of General Practitioners Towards Laryngopharyngeal Reflux in Saudi Arabia. Cureus 2023; 15:e38043. [PMID: 37228524 PMCID: PMC10208014 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.38043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background General practitioners (GPs) have a significant role in the diagnosis of patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Some published data revealed a lack of knowledge among GPs about the disease, consequently, this lack of knowledge impacted their performance. This survey aims to assess the current knowledge and practice of general practitioners regarding laryngopharyngeal reflux in Saudi Arabia. Methodology This survey study was conducted to assess the current knowledge and practice of general practitioners regarding laryngopharyngeal reflux in Saudi Arabia using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed and collected from the five regions in Saudi Arabia, which are The Central Region (Riyadh, Qassim), Eastern Region (Dammam, Al-Kharj, Al-Ahasa), Western Region (Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah), Southern Region (Asir, Najran, Jizan), and Northern Region (Tabuk, Jouf, Hail). Results In the current study, we collected data from 387 general practitioners, 61.8% of whom were aged between 21-30 years old, and 57.4% of the participants were males. Moreover, 40.6% of the participants thought that both LPR and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) share pathophysiology, however, they are two different diseases considering their clinical presentation. Moreover, it was found that heartburn was the most known symptom of LPR among the participants (Mean score 2.14 (SD=1.31), where a lower score indicated more relation). Considering the treatment of LPR, 40.6% and 40.3% of the participants reported using proton pump inhibitors once or twice daily respectively. In contrast, antihistamine/H2 blockers, alginate, and magaldrate were used to a lesser extent as reported by 27.1%, 21.7%, and 12.1%. Conclusion The current study showed limited knowledge among general practitioners considering LPR with a higher rate of referring patients to other departments depending on symptoms which may increase the pressure on other departments of mild cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mujtaba Alrayah
- Unit of Otolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, SAU
| | - Rajab Alzahrani
- Unit of Otolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, SAU
| | - Mohammed A Alghamdi
- Unit of Otolaryngology, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, SAU
| | - Kholoud M Alghamdi
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, SAU
| | - Faisal F Almutairi
- Department of Medicine, Unaizah College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Unaizah, SAU
| | - Anwar A Alghamdi
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, SAU
| | - Raghad A Alzahrani
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, SAU
| | - Taif A Bajaber
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Fakeeh College of Medical Sciences, Jeddah, SAU
| | - Tahani F Alanazi
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, SAU
| | - Haya A Alnafisah
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, SAU
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Alzahrani F, Al Turki Y. Knowledge and practice of family medicine and internal medicine residents toward the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. J Family Med Prim Care 2021; 10:3005-3012. [PMID: 34660439 PMCID: PMC8483100 DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_236_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Accurate diagnosis and management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) remain a challenge in the primary care setting. The objective was to assess GERD management's knowledge and practice and its association with the family and internal medicine residents. Methods A cross-sectional study between January 2019 and September 2020 among the family and internal medicine residents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Residents answered a self-administrated questionnaire about knowledge and practices of GERD management. Results A total of 596 residents were included in the current study. The average age was 26.8 ± 2.1 years, and 54.5% of the residents were males. The median knowledge score was 62.5%. The majority (89.8%) of the residents were using acid suppression drugs empirically, mainly proton-pump inhibitors (75.8%), for <8-week durations (69.7%) being taken before meals (84.7%). Frequent diagnostic testing for GERD included urea breath test (50.7%), 24-hour pH-metry/24-hour pH probe (47.3%), and upper endoscopy with biopsy (40.7%). Frequent causes for referral included gastrointestinal bleeding (82.6%), weight loss/appetite loss (82.2%), and failure of therapy (78.7%). Better knowledge was associated with older age, family medicine training, better referral practices, frequent reporting of atypical symptoms, and reading recent guidelines. Conclusions We are reporting a moderate knowledge level among a group of family and internal medicine residents trained in Riyadh hospitals. Practices were generally good with some areas that need improvement, especially diagnostic testing. There is an urgent need for educational programs that target family and internal medicine residents, such as education courses that include lectures and clinical discussions with the senior staff. Also, we suggest health care organizations in Saudi Arabia establish well-structured Saudi National GERD Guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahad Alzahrani
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University, King Saud University Medical Saud City Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yousef Al Turki
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University, Collage of Medicine, King University Medical City Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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