Emergency medical service providers' knowledge and perception of sepsis at Makkah Saudi Red Crescent Authority

Abstract

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition existing worldwide and is frequently known as the “hidden killer” because it is a time-sensitive illness, like myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest; therefore, prehospital providers must have adequate knowledge about it. Aim: The aim was to measure the knowledge and perception of sepsis among emergency medical service (EMS) providers to assure better patient prognosis. Methodology: A cross-sectional paper-based questionnaire survey comprising 15 questions, divided into three sections, was conducted at Makkah Saudi Red Crescent Authority to evaluate their knowledge related to the signs and symptoms of sepsis in particular and management and perception of sepsis in general. The responses received were categorized according to the specialties considering P < 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: The total number of study participants was 102; 26 participants were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria. Among the remaining 76 participants, 64.5% were technicians and 35.5% were specialists. The most common age group was 25 ± 5 years which composed 46.1% of the total participants, and the highest years of experience was between 6 and 10 years which composed 47.4% of the total participants. According to a 5-point Likert scale, there was an adequate level of EMS provider perception on the knowledge of sepsis. Nearly 55.6% of the specialists knew the three stages of sepsis better than technicians (40.8%). Both the technicians and specialists had poor knowledge regarding hypothermia (technicians 20.4% and specialists 25.9%) as a sign of sepsis, in addition to administering intravenous antibiotics (technicians 28.6% and specialists 14.8%) as a management modality. On the other hand, both had enough knowledge regarding the other signs and symptoms with an average of 72.8% and the management of sepsis with an average of 72%. Conclusion: Overall, all participants had a good level of knowledge related to sepsis. However, the participants lack knowledge on administering antibiotics and hypothermia; moreover, their attitude and willingness toward recognizing and managing septic patients is unknown. Hence, it is recommended that further research may be undertaken to measure it at a larger scale and efforts be made to educate the providers certainly on the knowledge they lack of.