Insights into the knowledge, attitude and practices for the treatment of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy from a cross-sectional cohort survey of physicians

Introduction The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) are heterogeneous and lead to high morbidity and mortality. Knowledge deficits among healthcare professionals could be detrimental to clinical care. Identifying areas of deficient Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of IIM can improve physician education and patient outcomes. Aims To assess the proportion of physicians treating IIM with poor KAP and identify the key areas of deficit. Methods An anonymised and validated e-survey (57 questions) was circulated among physicians treating IIM (purposive sampling). Responses were evaluated using the Likert scale for good (>70% correct response), poor (>20% chose >2 answers) and the rest as intermediate consensus. Descriptive statistics were used. Intergroup comparisons were done using non-parametric tests. Results Of 80 (9.1% of 883) respondents, 90% were Rheumatologists and 37.5% Academicians. The knowledge base of treating physicians was good in specific domains such as triggers (80-90%), clinical presentation (MDA5, statin myositis, steroid myopathy, anti-synthetase syndrome)(82-92%), IIM mimics (41-89%), investigations (23-92%) and risk of osteoporosis in IIM(79%). There is also an intermediate knowledge base/consensus for outcome measures(30-56%) and response criteria(30-53%). There was poor knowledge and consensus on trials(27-34%), EULAR/ACR criteria(31%) and exercise-based interventions(17-62%). While 90% agree on the need for muscle biopsy to diagnose polymyositis, only one-third advocated it for juvenile and adult DM. Conclusion Physicians have a good understanding of the triggers, clinical presentation and mimics of IIM. Poor to intermediate knowledge and consensus exists regarding muscle biopsy, outcome measures, response criteria and exercise-based interventions, which could be addressed through future focussed educational initiatives.