General practitioners’ knowledge of gout and its management: a case study in Beijing

BACKGROUND: The incidence of gout has increased rapidly in recent years, and the suspected lack of awareness of gout among general practitioners may lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. AIM: To assess general practitioners’ management of gout at community health service clinics in the Tongzhou district of Beijing, as well as the factors that contributed to optimal decision making. METHODS: A survey based on current guidelines for assessment and management of gout was sent to 245 general practitioners at community health service clinics in the Tongzhou district of Beijing. The questionnaire included personal information of general practitioners and ten items that addressed knowledge of gout. Our questionnaire was self-administered and distributed electronically via WeChat, and data were collected on a platform called ‘Wenjuanwang’. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 19.0 software. RESULTS: Totally, 216 general practitioners responded to the survey. About three-quarters (71.8%) reported having received Continuing Medical Education (CME) about gout. More than half (54.6%) reported an awareness of treat to target (T2T) for gout. However, the overall rate of good understanding of gout was only 6.5%, a basic knowledge of gout was 55.6%, and understanding about gout diagnosis and treatment was only 11.1%. The general practitioners’ understanding of basic concepts related to gout indicated that CME could improve their understanding (P < 0.05). An analysis of the general practitioners’ rate of comprehension of gout diagnosis and treatment showed that education level, CME, and familiarity with T2T could improve understandings of gout diagnosis and treatment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There are serious deficits in understandings about gout among general practitioners in the Tongzhou district of Beijing. Quality CME is needed to improve Chinese general practitioners’ management of gout.