[Sepsis - Knowledge of non-physician personnel in Africa. A cross-sectional study in Malawian district hospitals].

backgroundMalawi has one of the worst human resource situations in the world and each clinically working doctor has to serve around 50,000 patients. There are almost no Malawian specialists physicians so that in the district hospitals it is usually non-medical staff (e.g. anesthesia clinical officer) who have the responsibility for severely sick patients with sepsis. At the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital we have organized different courses over the years to support these colleagues.

methodsAnonymous questionnaires with 10 multiple choice and 4 feedback-related questions were distributed to 115 participants in order to achieve an overview of the basic knowledge related to sepsis in the Malawian setting.

resultsIn total 64.2 % of the questions were answered correctly with only minor differences between the 4 groups of participants from different professional backgrounds. Despite a relatively good knowledge in practical therapy the question concerning the therapeutic strategies of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign obtained the worst score with 6 %. After the course there was a 17 % increase in correctly answered questions. Besides an overview over the diagnostic and therapeutic situation for sepsis in the districts we received suggestions and critical comments for a better adjustment of our courses towards the reality of rural district hospitals.

conclusionsHealthcare workers in Malawi are not aware of key recommendations of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign. Guidelines have to be adapted to the specific healthcare structures in underdeveloped countries. We realized the wish and the desire of the participants for more training and more courses in Malawi. In order to be able to support these needs we would like to invite cooperation from interested institutions and colleagues for a special sepsis course on the occasion of the annual World Sepsis Days.