knowledge and practice of anesthesiologists to manage covid-19 patients: a report from northern iran

Background :the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic has significantly impacted healthcare systems worldwide, highlighting the necessity for effective management strategies among medical professionals, particularly anesthesiologists. objectives :due to the limited literature in this field, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of guilan province anesthesiologists regarding the management of covid-19 patients. methods :this cross-sectional analytical multicenter study was conducted in guilan academic and private hospitals throughout the years 2022 - 2023. the data collection device was a researcher-made questionnaire, which included two parts: (1) demographic data and (2) twenty questions to assess the method of covid-19 management by physicians. results :a total of 70 physicians participated in this study, including 15 (21.4%) faculty members, 46 (65.7%) from the private sector, and 9 (12.9%) anesthesia residents. the results illustrated that there was a statistically significant difference between the obtained scores and years of experience (p=0.022), academic degree (p < 0.001), and completion of educational courses of covid-19 (p=0.02). using the kolmogorov-smirnov (ks) test, it was determined that the distribution of data related to the sum of scores obtained from the questionnaire measuring awareness of the management of patients with covid-19 by the specialists and anesthesia residents in the study did not have a normal distribution (ks=0.161 and p < 0.001). conclusions :this study underscores the urgent need for targeted educational interventions to improve anesthetists' knowledge and practices related to covid-19 management. continuous professional development and training programs are essential to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped to handle such public health emergencies effectively.