Abdominal compartment syndrome: knowledge of the medical staff of a University Hospital in Curitiba

ABSTRACT Objective: to assess the physicians' knowledge regarding intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome and to compare it with the established literature. Methods: we conducted a descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, quantitative study. We interviewed 38 physicians through a self-administered questionnaire composed of objective questions. We carried out the study in a tertiary reference university hospital, located in Curitiba, Paraná. Results: the mean age of the participants was 28 years, 60.5% were female and the mean time of medical experience was 3.5 years. Regarding the knowledge on the subject, 57.9% considered that abdominal compartment syndrome starts with intra-abdominal grade III hypertension, 50% considered abdominal perfusion pressure the most reliable method to determine intra-abdominal hypertension, 89.4% considered the intravesical measuring technique as the most used, 71.1% considered oliguria to be the early sign of abdominal compartment syndrome. Of the interviewees, 81.6% did not measure intra-abdominal pressure because there was no protocol defined by the service. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they did not know the definitions of the consensus of the World Society of the Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (WSACS). Conclusion: half of the physicians were able to classify intra-abdominal hypertension and indicate the onset of abdominal compartment syndrome correctly.