Antibiotic use practices of pharmacy staff: a cross-sectional study in Saint Petersburg, the Russian Federation

作者：Belkina Tatiana^*; Duvanova Natalia; Karbovskaja Julia; Tebbens Jurjen Duintjer; Vlcek Jiri

来源：BMC Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2017, 18(1): 11.

DOI：10.1186/s40360-017-0116-y

• Antibiotic use
• Pharmacists
• Antimicrobial resistance

Background: Non-prescription access to antimicrobials is common, and self-prescribing is increasingly popular in Russian society. The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of community pharmacists regarding antibiotic use and self-medication.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from September-December 2015 of community pharmacists in the Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region, Russia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess antibiotic use and self-medication practices. The data were analysed using logistic regression and Pearson chi-squared tests.
Results: Of the 316 pharmacists (77.07%) who completed the questionnaire, 230 (72.8%) self-medicated with antibiotics. Antibiotics were mostly used to self-treat upper (53.3%) and lower respiratory tract infections (19.3%), relying on their own knowledge (81.5%), previous treatment experience (49%) and patients' prescriptions (17%). The most commonly used antibiotics were macrolides (33.2%). Characteristics such as age, education and experience were related to antibiotic use and self-medication.
Conclusions: The study confirmed that self-prescription of antibiotics is a common practice amongst pharmacists in Saint Petersburg and also identified personal and professional characteristics of pharmacists strongly associated with self-medication.

• 出版日期2017-2-14