[Knowledge about PSA among primary care physicians].
OBJECTIVE
The use of prostate-specific antigen as a tumor marker has led to an important advancement in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Primary care physicians have started to request this test over the last 5 or 6 years. However, an inadequate use of this tumor marker has been observed. This study analyzes the primary care physicians' knowledge about PSA.


METHODS
A cross-sectional and observational study was conducted. A questionnaire with 12 closed questions on PSA was sent out to 350 primary care physicians in the Canary Islands (Spain) The study was confidential and the following variables were analyzed: absolute frequencies, percentages and comparison of percentages (95% CI).


RESULTS
We received 186 questionnaires (53.1%). To the question on whether the physician had sufficient knowledge about the test, 36% (67) answered 'yes' and 64% 'no'. The items that showed a higher percentage of correct answers were: "with the use of PSA, the utility of DRE has dropped (91.9%), "PSA can increase in prostate cancer (88.7%)", "a PSA level < 4 ng/ml indicates no prostate cancer (88.2%)" and "PSA > 4 ng/ml indicates prostate cancer" (86.6%). The percentages of correct answers for the remaining questions were less than 70%.


CONCLUSIONS
The study shows that primary care physicians' knowledge about PSA is insufficient and a continuing education program is necessary.
Chesa Ponce
Nicolás
N
Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, España. chesa@pulso.com
Orengo Valverde
Juan Carlos
JC
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen