Assessment of the knowledge of usage of blood and blood products amongst medical doctors in the Department of Medicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand affiliated academic hospitals.

Background: Rational and appropriate use of blood and blood products is important in a resource limited setting like South Africa. Proper education is required in decision-making and management with regard to blood transfusion. Status of the current knowledge of blood transfusion practice is also necessary in order to identify target areas of teaching and patient management.

Objective: To assess the knowledge regarding blood and blood products among doctors of varying ranks at the University of the Witwatersrand affiliated academic hospitals.

Research Design And Methods: This is an observational, descriptive study using a self-administered questionnaire, comprising of 40 questions, equally divided into 6 sections covering different areas of transfusion medicine. Demographics of the participants and an opinion on how to impart further information was also included.

Results: A response rate of 33% was obtained from the distributed questionnaires. After grouping medical professionals together, an average score of 61% was obtained. As individual groups, the consultants achieved the highest score of 64%, while the interns, who averaged 56%, achieved the lowest score. The medical officers and registrars averaged 63%, while community service doctors averaged 58%. Participants scored the best in the section pertaining to 'consent' averaging 87%. This was followed by 64%, achieved for the section regarding 'adverse effects'. The section regarding 'red blood cell usage' and 'blood product ordering' was scored at 60%, while the section on 'platelet usage' attained a score of 44%. The lowest score was achieved in the section regarding 'plasma product usage', 30%. A statistically significant gap in knowledge (p = 0.0139) was noted from intern up to medical officer level, after which the increase in knowledge up to consultant level was not found to be statistically significantly different.

Conclusions: The overall results obtained appear to be suboptimal and can be improved upon. Formalized and on-going teaching around blood and blood product usage is required at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, to ensure that this scarce, but invaluable resource is used judiciously and appropriately.