27Feb 2017

ANTIBIOTICS USE AND MISUSE IN UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION PATIENTS: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE ANALYSIS IN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, SAUDI ARABIA.

  • Assistant Professor & Consultant Thoracic Surgeon.
  • Medical intern.
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Background: Excessive use of antibioticsamong general public is a topic of global concern. The present study aimed to assess the awareness and causes of antibiotics use and misuse in patients with upper respiratory tract infections. Methods: This cross-sectional hospital-based survey was conducted in the Primary Care Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period Jan 2014 to Dec 2015. In this study, a well-establishedself-administrated questionnairewas randomly distributed to the patients suffering from URTI visiting at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of 3 parts;demographic variables, knowledge, beliefs and behaviors toward antibiotic use and misuse. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of data.Out of 420 collected responses, we included 400 and the remaining 20 were excluded. Results: The results show that 45.5% of participants used antibiotics without prescription (p=0.050) and 10.8% used it over a pharmacist’s advice (p=0.030). 17.3% participants forced the physicians to prescribe antibiotic and 22% patients stopped taking antibiotics when they felt better (p=0.007). Moreover, 45% had the antibiotic stocks at home in case of emergencies. In addition, 16.8% were ignoring the instructions when taking antibiotics (p-0.004). 12% of the participants denied that an antibiotic could cause an allergic reaction (p-0.054) and a similar percentage of participants (12%) believed that the effectiveness of the treatment would not be affected if a full course of antibiotic is not completed (p=0.029). 7.2% of the participants with high educational level believed that all antibiotics do not cause side-effects (p=0.002) and 17.8% of them believed that if symptoms were improving the antibiotic course can be interruptedwithout completing (p-0.037). Conclusion:It is concluded that misconceptions exist about the use and indications of antibiotics. Lack of knowledge regarding antibiotic resistance and risks associated with use of antibiotics was prevalent. It is suggested that more interaction is required between physicians and patients, and involvement of both print and electronic media to improve the antibiotics knowledge and practices among community and consequently, control the problems of antibiotics misuse.

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[Waseem Hajjar, Sara Al-khelb, Sarah Al-Mutairi and Norah Al-Refayi. (2017); ANTIBIOTICS USE AND MISUSE IN UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION PATIENTS: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE ANALYSIS IN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, SAUDI ARABIA. Int. J. of Adv. Res. 5 (Feb). 1604-1611] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com

Nora Al-Refayi
King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DOI:

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/3322      
DOI URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/3322

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