Overview of the knowledge and attitudes of physicians in Brazzaville on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is the leading sleep-related breathing disorder. Its complications and its repercussions on the quality of life of patients make the OSAS a real public health problem. The objective of this study is to both asses physicians knowledge of OSAS and describe their attitudes towards suspect subjects in Brazzaville. This was a cross-sectional study of 230 doctors practicing in various hospitals in the city of Brazzaville. The data collection was done by a self-questionnaire developed after a bibliographic analysis on the OSAS. The questionnaire was completed without recourse to a source of information. Our sample consisted of 141 (70.50%) general practitioners and 59 (29.50%) specialist physicians. The average of the knowledge score was 9.34 points±3.03 points. The general level of physician knowledge about SAS was good in 2% of cases, average in 44% of cases and low in 54% of cases. The level of knowledge was related to the number of times the OSAS diagnosis was mentioned by the physician in his practice (P