Abstract:
Increasing the rate of antibiotic resistance is a global problem today. One of the most
important causes of developing resistance is irrational use of antibiotic. Some other
causes are inappropriate prescription of doctors, unjustified self medication of patients. A
survey project has been designed at Shariatpur Sadar Upozila under Shariatpur district to
measure and explore the abuse of antibiotic. This study is aimed to estimate general
knowledge and awareness of patients regarding use of antibiotics to find out possible
reasons of irrational use of antibiotics in the rural areas of Bangladesh. It was a
questionnaire based cross sectional health survey conducted on 50 subjects aged 15 or
over who came to get service at Shariatpur Sadar hospital and in different private clinics.
It was found from the study that the general knowledge of the patients about the
indication of antibiotics was very poor. Majority of the patients did not know the
appropriate use of antibiotics. From physicians survey it was evident that, 27.27%
doctors prescribe antibiotic in suspected infection while 63.64% of them prescribed
antibiotics in confirmed case, 81.82% reported, patient didn't complete the full course of
antibiotic always, 72.73% preferred Cephalosporin incase of empirical therapy. From
patient survey we found that, approximately 30% patient visited the doctor for cold,
fever, diarrhea, 48% took antibiotic without consulting doctors, 68% stopped taking
antibiotic when symptoms disappear, 30% followed the proper time schedule.
This study indicates that there is an urgent need of health education for the community to
increase knowledge and awareness about use of antibiotics to decrease the self-medication
and inappropriate use of antibiotics
Description:
This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) in East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.