Abstract： Background： Antibiotic self-medication is highly prevalent in the developing countries. The objective of the study was to evaluate self-medication with antibiotics and the regulation of antibiotics consump...Abstract： Background： Antibiotic self-medication is highly prevalent in the developing countries. The objective of the study was to evaluate self-medication with antibiotics and the regulation of antibiotics consumption in the private and public pharmacies of the urban area of Bujumbura. Methods： A cross sectional study using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in private and public pharmacies of Bujumbura. 460 clients were randomly chosen and 32 sellers randomly selected from January to September 2015 and interviewed. Results： Of the 460 participants, 186 （40.43%） practiced self-medication to antibiotics. The average age was 34.89 years. Abdominal pain was the first motivation to practice self-medication （20.8%）. Amoxicillin was the antibiotic most commonly used （47.3%）. Inaccessibility to health care facilities due to the lack of financial resources was cited to be the root of this phenomenon （62%） and these antibiotics were mostly acquired from community pharmacies without prescriptions （84.4%）. Conclusions： The high cost of care and the low level ofstudy of the patients are factors favoring this phenomenon. A national policy for regulation use of antibiotics without a medical prescription and an educational program to general population on the effective use of antibiotics are therefore needed.展开更多
文摘Abstract： Background： Antibiotic self-medication is highly prevalent in the developing countries. The objective of the study was to evaluate self-medication with antibiotics and the regulation of antibiotics consumption in the private and public pharmacies of the urban area of Bujumbura. Methods： A cross sectional study using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in private and public pharmacies of Bujumbura. 460 clients were randomly chosen and 32 sellers randomly selected from January to September 2015 and interviewed. Results： Of the 460 participants, 186 （40.43%） practiced self-medication to antibiotics. The average age was 34.89 years. Abdominal pain was the first motivation to practice self-medication （20.8%）. Amoxicillin was the antibiotic most commonly used （47.3%）. Inaccessibility to health care facilities due to the lack of financial resources was cited to be the root of this phenomenon （62%） and these antibiotics were mostly acquired from community pharmacies without prescriptions （84.4%）. Conclusions： The high cost of care and the low level ofstudy of the patients are factors favoring this phenomenon. A national policy for regulation use of antibiotics without a medical prescription and an educational program to general population on the effective use of antibiotics are therefore needed.
