{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T19:58:18Z","timestamp":1791921498493,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,23]],"date-time":"2023-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1674432000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deanship of Scientific Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia","award":["GRANT100"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GRANT100"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Management of invasive fungal infections (IFI) and subsequent treatment choices remain challenging for physicians in the ICU. Documented evidence shows increased practice of the inappropriate use of antifungal agents in the ICU. Continuous education of healthcare providers (HCPs) represents the cornerstone requirement for starting an antifungal stewardship program (AFS). This study aimed at evaluating knowledge gaps in systemic antifungal prescribing among physicians and clinical pharmacists in a critical care setting. A cross-sectional, multi-center, survey-based study was conducted in five tertiary hospitals located in Al-Ahsaa, Saudi Arabia between January and May 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the targeted clinicians. A total of 63 clinicians were involved (65.5% ICU physicians and 34.5% clinical pharmacists). It was noted that a minority of the participating HCPs (3.2%) had overall good knowledge about antifungal prescribing, but the majority had either moderate (46%) or poor (50.8%) knowledge. The difference in overall knowledge scores between the ICU physicians and the clinical pharmacists (p = 0.925) was not significant. However, pharmacists showed better scores for the pharmacokinetics of antifungal therapy (p = 0.05). This study has revealed a significant gap in the knowledge and practice of clinicians as regards prescribing antifungal therapy in our area. Although the results cannot be generalized, the outcome of this study has exposed the need for a tailored training program essential for carrying out an AFS program.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics12020238","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,23]],"date-time":"2023-01-23T03:26:41Z","timestamp":1674444401000},"page":"238","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Evaluation of Systemic Antifungal Prescribing Knowledge and Practice in the Critical Care Setting among ICU Physicians and Clinical Pharmacists: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2605-0535","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sahar Mohamed","family":"Ibrahim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0352-2176","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nosiyba","family":"Adlan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2525-6518","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sufyan Mohammed","family":"Alomair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ibrahim","family":"Butaiban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Alsalman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulmajeed","family":"Bawazeer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monahi","family":"Alqahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1004-2522","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dalia","family":"Mohamed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1943-1874","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Promise Madu","family":"Emeka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa 31982, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2323","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2009.1754","article-title":"International study of the prevalence and outcomes of infection in intensive care units","volume":"302","author":"Vincent","year":"2009","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1247","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/167.5.1247","article-title":"Secular trends in the epidemiology of nosocomial fungal infections in the United States, 1980-1990. 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