Table 4.
Perceived knowledge of antimicrobials of all participating pre-final and final-year Veterinary students, Faculty of Veterinary Medicines, Africa.
| Variables | Confident | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African countries | Veterinary class | |||||||
|
Nigeria n (%) |
Sudan n (%) |
South Africa n (%) |
Pre-final n (%) |
Final n (%) |
Overall n (%) |
χ2 | p-valuea | |
| 1. Spectrum, effect, distribution, indications, side effects, and contra-indications of the most commonly used antimicrobial classes in veterinary medicine, as well as the implication thereof | 60 (61.2) | 113 (68.1) | 12 (16.9) | 76 (41.5) | 107 (58.5) | 183 (55.3) | 4.61 | 0.032b |
| 2. The difference between time-dependent and concentration-dependent antimicrobials | 30 (30.9) | 84 (50.3) | 47 (66.2) | 71 (44.7) | 88 (55.3) | 159 (48.1) | 0.58 | 0.446 |
| 3. Resistance mechanisms | 68 (71.6) | 135 (80.8) | 23 (32.9) | 104 (46.6) | 119 (53.4) | 223 (68.0) | 0.028 | 0.868 |
| 4. Making a Gram-stain | 85 (87.6) | 101 (62.7) | 40 (56.3) | 95 (42.2) | 130 (57.8) | 225 (69.2) | 6.92 | 0.009b |
| 5. Interpreting antibiograms | 54 (56.3) | 68 (41.7) | 45 (63.4) | 67 (40.9) | 97 (59.1) | 164 (50.3) | 4.90 | 0.027b |
| 6. Finding reliable sources of information to guide empirical use of antimicrobials | 50 (51.5) | 104 (64.6) | 35 (49.3) | 84 (45.2) | 102 (54.8) | 186 (57.1) | 0.75 | 0.386 |
| 7. Choosing the most ideal route for administering a specific antimicrobial | 73 (76.0) | 135 (79.9) | 42 (59.2) | 100 (40.3) | 148 (59.7) | 248 (74.7) | 15.95 | <0.0001b |
| 8. Choosing the desired time-frame for (duration of) therapy | 60 (62.5) | 106 (64.2) | 26 (36.6) | 77 (40.3) | 114 (59.7) | 191 (58.2) | 8.09 | 0.004b |
| 9. Choosing an alternative if my first choice of antimicrobial therapy failed | 55 (57.3) | 123 (73.7) | 21 (29.6) | 82 (41.4) | 116 (58.6) | 198 (60.0) | 6.13 | 0.013b |
| 10. Designing an integrated treatment protocol for a specific animal with an infection which includes supportive therapy | 55 (57.3) | 113 (68.1) | 18 (25.4) | 70 (38.0) | 114 (62.0) | 184 (55.9) | 13.78 | <0.0001b |
a
χ2 test,
b
p < 0.05 refers to the significant statistical difference in the percentage/proportions of confidence regarding antimicrobial knowledge between pre-final year and final-year veterinary students.