Measuring Students’ Awareness Of Using Antibiotics In Treating Respiratory Tract Infections In Universities Of Baghdad, 2020-2021.

Abstract

Background: The emergence and spread of pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics have become a major public health concern. The incorrect prescription, inappropriate consumption, and excess use of antimicrobial drugs, specifically antibiotics, are possibly the main factors contributing to the widespread antibiotic-resistant bacteria.This study aims to assess the prevalence of students who use antibiotics without consulting doctors in Baghdad Universities, check which antibiotic is more frequently being used as over-the-counter (OTC), and determine the regularity of antibiotics intake. Subjects and Method:  This cross-sectional study was conducted between 2020/October and 2021/January in Baghdad (Iraq) in which 150 students from many universities completed an online questionnaire that included student’s name , gender , age , university & college, stage, smoking status, and clinical information about the disease and the antibiotics regarding the type, duration, and improvement. Statistical calculations were conducted using SPSS Statistics and Microsoft Office Excel. Results: High rates of antibiotics without a prescription were identified in our study: 62.7%. The drug most often used for self-medication was amoxicillin (60.6%). Antibiotic use, duration of treatment and outcome did not show an association with any of the cross-tabulated variables (p > 0.05). On the other hand, antibiotic type showed a significant association with gender (p=0.015) and smoking status (p=0.023) but no significant association with other variables (p > 0.05). 32.5% ofamoxicillin and azithromycin users took the antibiotics regularly in the full course. Regularity of amoxicillin or azithromycin intake did not show a significant association with either gender or stage. Conclusion: Self-medicated antibiotics are a very common practice among students in our study, especially medical ones. Amoxicillin is the most widely used antibiotic. Many students who participated in our study don’t have any idea about the full course of using antibiotics. Keywords: Antibiotics, awareness, Respiratory Tract Infection, Students of Baghdad Universities