Medical students' knowledge of the congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Citomegalovirus pripadnik je obitelji herpesvirusa. Pokazuje visoku seroprevalenciju u cijelom svijetu i uzrokuje bolesti i u djece i u odraslih. Najčešći je uzročnik kongenitalnih infekcija. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je analizirati znanje među studentima medicine viših godina u Republici Hrvatskoj o samoj kongenitalnoj infekciji. U istraživanje su uključena 602 studenta oba spola sa četiri Sveučilišta, a provedeno je putem upitnika. Upitnik se sastojao od demografskih podataka, pitanja s jednim točnim odgovorom i kategorijama pitanja s više točnih odgovora o citomegalovirusnoj infekciji. Najviše ispitanika čine studentice 6. godine sa Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Prosječna razina znanja iznosila je 50.84% što upućuje na općenito nisko znanje studenata o ovoj infekciji. Uspoređivalo se znanje studenata prema spolu, godini studija, fakultetu, statusu ispita iz Infektologije i područjima interesa unutar medicine. U ukupnom broju bodova nije pronađena statistički značajna razlika prema ijednom od ovih parametara, a u pojedinim kategorijama u kojima je proveden upitnik (prijenos, simptomi, dijagnostika, terapija i prevencija) pronađene su statistički značajne razlike koje sveukupno ukazuju na najlošiju razinu znanja studenata Sveučilišta u Osijeku. Općenito, treba istaknuti važnost prevencije bolesti, a ovdje su rezultati pokazali vrlo nisko znanje. Za Republiku Hrvatsku 27.6% ispitanika zna da ne postoji metoda probira na cCMV, a 56.5% posto zna da ne postoji cjepivo. Sveukupno, rezultati ovog istraživanja pokazuju nisku razinu znanja i osviještenosti o cCMV infekciji koja može imati teške i dugotrajne posljedice. Stoga je važno pravodobno educirati studente o ovoj bolesti kako bi ona u budućnosti bila na vrijeme prepoznata i liječena.Cytomegalovirus is a member of the herpesviridae family. It shows a high seroprevalence worldwide and it causes disease in both children and adults. It is the most common cause of congenital infections. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge among 4th, 5th and 6th year medical students in the Republic of Croatia about the congenital infection itself. The study included 602 students of both sexes from four universities and was conducted through a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, multiple choice questions and multiple response questions in various categories about the cytomegalovirus infection. Most of the respondents were female 6th year students from the University of Zagreb. The average level of knowledge was 50.84%, which indicates a generally low level of knowledge about this infection. Students' knowledge was compared by gender, year of study, faculty, exam status in the course of Infectious Diseases and interests in medical fields. No statistically significant difference was found in the total number of points according to any of these parameters, but in some categories in which the questionnaire was conducted (transmission, symptoms, diagnostics, therapy and prevention) statistically significant differences were found, which indicate the lowest level of knowledge in University of Osijek students. In general, the importance of disease prevention should be emphasized, and here the results showed a very low level of knowledge. For the Republic of Croatia, 27.6% of the respondents knew that there was no screening method for cCMV, and 56.5% knew that there was no vaccine. Overall, the results of this research show a low level of knowledge and awareness about the cCMV infection that can have severe and long-lasting consequences. This leads to a conclusion that it is important to educate students about this disease, so that it can be recognized and treated in time in the future