{"title":"Knowledge and experiences of healthcare workers in managing children with neurometabolic disorders in a developing country: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Arushi Gahlot Saini, Bhanudeep Singanamalla, Pradeep Kumar Gunasekaran, Gunjan Didwal, Savita Verma Attri","doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmad023","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the knowledge and experiences of healthcare workers in the management of neurometabolic disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was carried out among the 132 participants of a continued medical education program conducted in the Department of Pediatrics at a tertiary-care teaching hospital. A questionnaire-based feedback form was circulated among the participants, and their responses were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ninety-three responses were analyzed. The most common pediatric illnesses identified were infections (91%), nutritional (91%), birth-related injuries (44.4%) and metabolic disorders (44.4%). Consanguinity (81.5%) and genetic heterogeneity (42.4%) were recognized as most important causes of neurometabolic disorders. Important steps identified for prevention were prenatal testing (65.6%) and newborn screening at birth (61%); while for improving the diagnosis were routine availability of metabolic investigations (65.3%) and screening at birth (46.6%). Most respondents (58.7%) expressed discomfort in managing a case with inherited metabolic defect due to a lack of knowledge (46.8%) and diagnostic facilities (44.6%). Despite access to testing in the majority, a high cost of testing was noticed for biochemical and genetic investigations. The majority of participants (73%) considered some of the inherited metabolic disorders as treatable. Dietary substitution (89.3%), enzyme replacement (69%), cofactor replacement (53.6%), gene therapy (35.7%) and regular dialysis (16.7%) were considered the treatment options.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In spite of growing awareness of inherited metabolic disorders, there are still gaps in knowledge among healthcare workers. It is challenging to diagnose and manage these disorders. Cost-reduction of diagnostic tests, routine newborn screening and increased educational activities are key challenges to be addressed.</p>","PeriodicalId":1,"journal":{"name":"Accounts of Chemical Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Accounts of Chemical Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmad023","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the knowledge and experiences of healthcare workers in the management of neurometabolic disorders.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among the 132 participants of a continued medical education program conducted in the Department of Pediatrics at a tertiary-care teaching hospital. A questionnaire-based feedback form was circulated among the participants, and their responses were analyzed.
Results: Ninety-three responses were analyzed. The most common pediatric illnesses identified were infections (91%), nutritional (91%), birth-related injuries (44.4%) and metabolic disorders (44.4%). Consanguinity (81.5%) and genetic heterogeneity (42.4%) were recognized as most important causes of neurometabolic disorders. Important steps identified for prevention were prenatal testing (65.6%) and newborn screening at birth (61%); while for improving the diagnosis were routine availability of metabolic investigations (65.3%) and screening at birth (46.6%). Most respondents (58.7%) expressed discomfort in managing a case with inherited metabolic defect due to a lack of knowledge (46.8%) and diagnostic facilities (44.6%). Despite access to testing in the majority, a high cost of testing was noticed for biochemical and genetic investigations. The majority of participants (73%) considered some of the inherited metabolic disorders as treatable. Dietary substitution (89.3%), enzyme replacement (69%), cofactor replacement (53.6%), gene therapy (35.7%) and regular dialysis (16.7%) were considered the treatment options.
Conclusion: In spite of growing awareness of inherited metabolic disorders, there are still gaps in knowledge among healthcare workers. It is challenging to diagnose and manage these disorders. Cost-reduction of diagnostic tests, routine newborn screening and increased educational activities are key challenges to be addressed.
期刊介绍：
Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance.
Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.
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