PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Assiri, Asaad M.
AU  - Saeed, Anjum
AU  - Saeed, Elshazaly
AU  - El-Mouzan, Mohammad I.
AU  - Alsarkhy, Ahmed A.
AU  - Al-Turaiki, Muath
AU  - Al-Mehaidib, Ali
AU  - Rashid, Mohsin
AU  - Ullah, Anhar
TI  - Assessment of knowledge of celiac disease among health care professionals
AID  - 10.15537/smj.2015.6.11519
DP  - 2015 Jun 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 751--753
VI  - 36
IP  - 6
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/36/6/751.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/36/6/751.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2015 Jun 01; 36
AB  - Objectives: To assess knowledge of celiac disease among medical professionals (physicians).Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of hospital-based medical staff in primary, secondary, and tertiary care public, and private hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KSA). We carried out the study between January 2013 and January 2104 at King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA. A pretested questionnaire was distributed to the potential participants. A scoring system was used to classify the level of knowledge of participants into 3 categories: poor, fair, and good.Results: A total of 109 physicians completed the survey and of these participants, 86.3% were from public hospitals, and 13.7% from private hospitals; 58.7% were males. Of the physicians, 19.2% had poor knowledge. Interns and residents had fair to good knowledge, but registrars, specialists, and even the consultants were less knowledgeable of celiac disease.Conclusion: Knowledge of celiac disease is poor among a significant number of physicians including consultants, which can potentially lead to delays in diagnosis. Educational programs need to be developed to improve awareness of celiac disease in the health care profession.