Deficits in allergy knowledge among physicians at academic medical centers

Background: Allergic conditions have high prevalence in the general population. Misconceptions regarding the diagnosis and management of allergic disease among physicians can lead to suboptimal clinical care. Objective: To determine the extent of allergy-related knowledge deficits among physicians. Methods: Pediatric and internal medicine resident and attending physicians from 2 separate academic medical centers were asked to answer an anonymous electronic survey. Survey questions addressed 7 different allergy content areas. Results: Four hundred eight physicians completed surveys (23.9% response rate). Respondents had few correct answers (mean +/- SD 1.91 +/- 1.43). Pediatric respondents had a larger number of correct answers compared with medicine-trained physicians (P < .001). No individual answered every survey question correctly, and 50 respondents (12.3%) had no correct answer. Three hundred seventy-eight respondents (92.6%) were unable to provide correct answers for at least 50% of survey questions. Level of residency training and prior rotation through an allergy and immunology elective correlated with a larger number of correct responses (P < .01). Only 1 survey question had an overall correct response rate higher than 50% (n = 261, 64%). Correct response rate was lower than 30% for 7 of the 9 possible questions. Conclusion: There are significant knowledge deficits in many areas of allergy-related content among pediatric and internal medicine physicians and across all levels of training and specialty. Given the prevalence of allergic conditions, the potential implications of a negative impact on clinical care are staggering. (C) 2015 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.