ABSTRACT
The inappropriate use of antibiotics for the treatment of infections is a worldwide problem that has implications for the cost of treatment and the development of resistant strains of bacteria. The use of antibiotics should follow specific criteria; they are on top of the list of self-medication drugs in countries that do not control their commercialization. OBJECTIVES: To determine the percentage of pharmacies that attend the public and sell antibiotics without medical prescription in a medium-sized city in Brazil, and analyze the variables involved in this procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 107 of the 136 pharmacies registered in our city were evaluated. These pharmacies were visited by actresses who simulated having a sister with symptoms of a non-complicated rhino-sinusitis, so that they could obtain antibiotics without a medical prescription. Each pharmacy was visited only once; the only variable in the simulated clinical setting was the report of fever temperature, which was randomly assigned between 38.5 and 40 degrees Celsius. RESULTS: Antibiotics were offered in 58 percent of the pharmacies, and this offer was increased to 74 percent after the actresses insisted on having them. In 65.4 percent of the pharmacies, the actresses were attended by a pharmacist, and 84.2 percent of them said they would sell antibiotics. When the request for antibiotics was denied (26 percent), only 7.5 percent was due to absence of prescription. The most frequent reason for refusal to sell antibiotics, was because the attendant deemed it unnecessary (46.6 percent) CONCLUSION: Antibiotics can be easily bought in the great majority of the pharmacies in our town without a medical prescription and a clear indication. Fever temperature did not modify the attendant's indication of the drug.