Pharmacotherapy of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Assessment of knowledge of doctors and senior students. Results of the ASCO III study

Introduction. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. The global prevalence of COPD is estimated at 10.3%. In Russia, there are more than 4 million patients with COPD, with 40% requiring hospitalization and 14% needing rehospitalization. Such statistics highlight the significance of COPD. Aim. To assess the level of knowledge among physicians and senior medical students regarding COPD pharmacotherapy. Mat erials and methods. This article presents an analysis of data on the knowledge assessment and preferences of specialists and senior medical students regarding COPD pharmacotherapy, obtained during the multicenter ASCO III study conducted between 2019 and 2023. Results. A total of 420 physician questionnaires from 11 regions and 372 student questionnaires from 7 medical universities were analyzed. The average level of correct answers (LCA) was 56.1% among physicians and 41.6% among students (p < 0.001). Respondents demonstrated the best results in questions related to the combination of drugs in a single delivery device. The poorest results were observed in questions regarding the choice of baseline therapy for severe COPD symptoms and the optimal selection of antibacterial agents during disease exacerbations. Correlation analysis of the relationship between “LCA” and “Years of Experience” among physicians revealed a weak inverse correlation between specialists’ knowledge level and their work experience. Conclusions. A relatively low level of knowledge in COPD pharmacotherapy was identified among both physicians and students. Physicians demonstrated significantly better knowledge than students in most areas. According to the authors, there is a need for continued assessment of knowledge in real-world practice and the optimization of both core and supplementary educational activities in this field.