Chaochao Zha,1,* Xuehua Che,1 Li Xiong,2 Yunhan Ji,2,* Gonghao Zhang2 

1Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopedics, Tongren Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200050, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Gonghao Zhang, Department of Orthopedics, Tongren Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200050, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-18121223516, Email ZGH4636@shtrhospital.com

Objective: The study explored the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward severe craniocerebral trauma perioperative management among anesthetists in China.
Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited anesthetists from 15 provinces in China between October 17, 2022, and November 09, 2022. Pearson’s correlation was used to assess the relationships between KAP dimension scores, and multivariable linear regression was performed to identify factors associated with higher KAP scores.
Results: The study included 200 anesthetists (122 females). The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 50.41± 7.36 (possible range, 0– 84), 20.23± 2.72 (possible range, 0– 24), and 11.85± 4.54 (possible range, 2– 28), respectively. The knowledge scores were positively correlated with the attitude scores (r=0.522, P< 0.001), but the practice scores were not significantly correlated with the knowledge or attitude scores. Anesthetists with experience in 100– 300 craniocerebral trauma surgeries (B = 3.728, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.271– 7.186, P = 0.035) or more than 300 surgeries (B = 7.680, 95% CI: 2.684– 12.675, P = 0.003) were significantly more likely to achieve higher overall KAP scores compared to those with experience in fewer than 100 surgeries.
Conclusion: Anesthetists in China exhibit moderate knowledge, a positive attitude, and inadequate practice regarding perioperative management of severe craniocerebral trauma. Greater clinical experience in managing craniocerebral trauma perioperatively is associated with higher KAP scores. The results highlight the need for targeted training and experience-based education to improve perioperative outcomes, which could translate into better clinical outcomes for the patients. Policymakers should be aware of those gaps and include additional training as necessary.

Keywords: craniocerebral trauma, anesthetist, surveys and questionnaires, knowledge, attitudes, practice