title: Dengue knowledge and its management practices among physicians of major cities of Pakistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess knowledge and practices related to dengue management among physicians.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study was conducted at hospitals in Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi between June and December 2012Physicians from public and private sectors filled a self-administered questionnaire about dengue knowledge and its management practices. A maximum score of 100 was assigned to the knowledge portion. Data was analysed using SPSS 15.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 400 subjects participated in the study; 200(50%) each from public and private hospitals. Of them, 223(56%) were males; 268(67%) were in the 21-30 years age bracket. The highest score was recorded in Quetta 67 followed by 65 in Karachi, 62 in Lahore, Faisalabad, Peshawar and 59 in Islamabad. Of the total, 200 (50%) were not aware that leucopenia is a criterion for diagnosing probable dengue. Similarly 140 (35%) did not know the criteria for diagnosing dengue haemorrhagic fever and warning signs of severe dengue. Total of 204 (51%) were not aware of the criteria for discharging of the admitted cases. There was no significant difference between dengue knowledge of the physicians belonging to public and private sectors (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quite a large number of physicians lacked knowledge of probable diagnosis of dengue and appropriate time to discharge the patients.
authors.affiliation: Pakistan Medical Research Council, Head Office Islamabad.
authors.forename: Ibrar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rafique
authors.affiliation: Pakistan Medical Research Council, Head Office Islamabad.
authors.forename: Muhammad Arif Nadeem
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Saqib
authors.affiliation: Pakistan Medical Research Council, Head Office Islamabad.
authors.forename: Muhammad Arif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Munir
authors.affiliation: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad.
authors.forename: Shajee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, FGSH, Islamabad.
authors.forename: Iftikhar Ahmed
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: PMRC Research Centre, DUHS, Karachi.
authors.forename: Masood Hussain
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: PMRC Research Centre, PMC, Faisalabad.
authors.forename: Jamil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: PMRC Research Centre, FJMC, Lahore.
authors.forename: Saira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bashir
authors.affiliation: PMRC Research Centre, KMC, Peshawar.
authors.forename: Obaidullah
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: PMRC Research Centre, BMC, Quetta.
authors.forename: Rukhsana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Firdous
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad.
authors.forename: Shafiq
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D020445:Hospitalists / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010154:Pakistan; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000592:standards; D017149:Private Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017150:Public Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019595:Severe Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Dengue, Physicians, Knowledge.