[Investigation of self-medication with antibiotics, Sudan study]

ABSTRACT

The present study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotmcs in four Sudanese cities, and to identify factors associated with this practice. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 1000 patients. The majority of the study population [83.8%] had used antibiotics without medical consultation. Moreover, previous symptoms were found to be the common causes of self-medication [52.7%], followed by economic factors [19.3%], while friend's advice represented 17.7%. Common cold appeared to be the most prevailed treated symptom without medical consultation [23.2%]. The study revealed that pharmacies were the main source of self-medicated antibiotics [83.9%]. The study indicated that only 54.4% of population had completed the antibiotics' regimens. Amoxicillin was the commonly used antibiotic by the majority of the respondents [53.9%], out of them 52.9% repeated the same antibiotics and 78.2% of population disagreed with self-medication practice. A set of recommendations was proposed to regulate self-mediations with antibiotics and to educate publics on the risks of irrational use of antibiotics