Avaliação do conhecimento dos médicos acerca do diagnóstico precoce e manejo do transtorno do espectro autista : revisão de literatura.

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a class of neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by social and communication impairment, in addition to restrictive and repetitive behaviors. According to recent studies, the estimated prevalence of ASD is 54/10,000 and the number of people diagnosed with the disorder is growing worldwide. Assessment in ASD usually begins with screening the general pediatric population to identify children at risk or who demonstrate signs suggestive of ASD, after which a diagnostic evaluation is recommended. Therefore, pediatricians and general practitioners play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, and it is important that they know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of ASD and have a strategy to systematically assess them. However, recent studies have shown that most physicians do not have specialized skills or training regarding childhood ASDs. As a consequence, children with ASD are not receiving intervention in their critical early years. In this scope, the present study carried out a literature review of articles that evaluated the perception and knowledge of physicians regarding the early diagnosis and management of ASD. A systematic narrative review was carried out in three electronic databases: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Scielo and Pubmed. The initial search yielded 1034 citations. Studies that assessed the knowledge of medical students, resident physicians and general practitioners who had completed their medical residency were included. No geographic restrictions were imposed and the selected languages were Portuguese and English. We identified 12 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The studies included in the review were carried out between April 2011 and October 2022. The results were summarized thematically according to the profile of the participants. The results of the review identified important gaps in the perception and knowledge of medical students, resident physicians and general practitioners regarding the early diagnosis and management of ASD. The results were similar in the three groups, as well as in the various countries in which the studies were developed, suggesting the low perception and low knowledge of physicians about ASD is currently a worldwide problem. The results reported by these studies suggest that specialized training programs related to autism, practical activities that include the assessment and management of patients with ASD, and personal experience with autism can satisfactorily improve physicians' knowledge on this topic. It is important, therefore, that medical educators develop and evaluate specialized autism training programs with a greater focus on improving medical behavior related to all aspects of providing care for autistic people.