scholarly journals Antibiotics Use and Its Knowledge in the Community: A Mobile Phone Survey during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bangladesh

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1052
Author(s):  
Zubair Akhtar ◽  
Syeda Mah-E-Muneer ◽  
Md. Mahbubur Rashid ◽  
Md. Shakil Ahmed ◽  
Md. Ariful Islam ◽  
...  

The general population has been excessively using antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the use of antibiotics for any reported illnesses in the preceding four weeks and knowledge of antibiotics among the general population in the community were assessed for possible interventions. A mobile phone survey among a general population across eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh was conducted during January–March 2021. Reported illness episodes irrespective of COVID-19 in the preceding four weeks of the interview, use of antibiotics for the illnesses, and knowledge on antibiotics among the general population were recorded. Descriptive analyses were performed. We randomly interviewed 1854 participants, with a mean age of 28.5 years (range: 18–75 years); 60.6% were male. Among all participants, 86.3% (95% CI: 84.7–87.8) heard names of antibiotics, but only 12.1% reported unspecified harmful effects, and 3.5% reported antimicrobial resistance when antibiotics were taken without a physician’s prescription. Among 257 (13.9%) participants, who consumed medicines for their recent illness episode, 32.7% (95% CI: 27.2–38.6) reported using antibiotics. Of those who could recall the names of antibiotics prescribed (n = 36), the most frequently used was azithromycin (22.2%) followed by cefixime (11.1%) and ciprofloxacin (5.6%). Our findings show an increased antibiotic use for illnesses reported in the preceding four weeks and an elevated knowledge at the community level during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Luo ◽  
Xuewen Tang ◽  
Lingling Ding ◽  
Zhujun Shao ◽  
Jianxing Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Non-prescription antibiotic use at community is a main driver of antimicrobial resistance. Cough is a common condition and prevalent in all communities, including China. This study aims to investigate the non-prescription antibiotic use for cough in China and explore to which extent antibiotic use knowledge was correctly instructed in communities.Methods A probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) sampling method was adopted to survey from all 14 communities in Yiwu city, China. All participants were investigated by face-to-face interview on Portable Android Devices (PADs). The continuous variables were presented by mean and standard deviation (SD) or medium and inter-quartile range (IQR). The categorical variables were presented using percentage or constituent ratio. Chi-square test for univariate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis were conducted to assess the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), respectively.Results A total of 3034 respondents across the 14 communities and the 50 natural villages/streets completed all key items of the questionnaire. Of 2400 (79.10%) respondents stated that they experienced cough in the past 12 months with the medium age of 36.5 (IQR: 26-49) and 12.21% (293/2400) respondents had the non-prescription antibiotic use behavior. Among those 293 respondents, the proportion of non-prescription antibiotic use for cough peaked at around 16% among people aged 30-39 years old. The major sources of antibiotics were pharmacy (77.70%) and/or family storage (43.92%). As for antibiotic knowledge in 3034 participants, 61.8% participants had minimal knowledge on broad-spectrum antibiotic and 53.76% were not familiar about the effects of joint use.Conclusions Non-prescription antibiotics use for cough is prevalent in the community, especially among people in their thirties. Strengthened drug purchase regulation and well-trained professional pharmacists would be promising alternatives to ameliorate AMR. Moreover, penetrating antibiotics knowledge to common citizens and is an urgent task to alleviate antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, proactive policies and regulations should be made to improve current situations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Valia ◽  
Brecht Ingelbeen ◽  
Bérenger Kaboré ◽  
Ibrahima Karama ◽  
Marjan Peeters ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundIn low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is increasing. WHO recommends monitoring antibiotic use, in particular Watch antibiotics, clinical important but at risk of becoming ineffective due to increasing AMR. We investigated antibiotic use at primary care or community-level in rural Burkina Faso.MethodsDuring 2016-2017, patients aged >3 months admitted with severe acute fever to the rural hospital of Nanoro Health District, Burkina Faso, reported antibiotic use in the two weeks prior to consultation or hospitalization, which we analysed using the WHO Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) classification. Most Watch antibiotics, e.g. ceftriaxone, are not recommended at primary health center level, as is also the case for ciprofloxacin in children.ResultsOf 920 participants (63.0% ≤14 years), pre-admission antibiotic use was reported by 363 (39.5%) of whom 58 (16.0%) reported more than one antibiotic. Use was more frequent among health center referrals (231, 54.0%) than among self-referred patients (131, 26.7%, p<0.001). Of 424 antibiotics, 261 (61.6%) were Access and 159 (37.5%) Watch antibiotics. Watch antibiotics use was more frequent among >14 year olds (72, 51.1%) than 0-14 year olds (87, 30.7%) and among referrals (41, 28.1%) compared to self-referred patients (117, 42.2%). Most frequently used Watch antibiotics were ceftriaxone (114, 26.9%) and ciprofloxacin (32, 7.5%). Among antibiotics reported by referral patients, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin were respectively recorded 100 (36.1%) and 12 times (4.3%).ConclusionThe frequent use of Watch group antibiotics prior to presentation to the hospital in rural Burkina Faso highlights the need to address primary care, over-the-counter and informal community-level antibiotic use as part of antibiotic stewardship in LMIC, facilitating referral, access to qualified prescribers, or improving diagnostic tools in health centers.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. e0227973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hathairat Kosiyaporn ◽  
Sunicha Chanvatik ◽  
Tibet Issaramalai ◽  
Wanwisa Kaewkhankhaeng ◽  
Anond Kulthanmanusorn ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Yan Luo ◽  
Xuewen Tang ◽  
Linling Ding ◽  
Zhujun Shao ◽  
Jianxing Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Non-prescription antibiotic use at community is a main driver of antimicrobial resistance. Cough is a common condition and prevalent in all townships, including China. This study aims to investigate the non-prescription antibiotic use for cough in China and explore to which extent antibiotic use knowledge was correctly instructed in communities. Methods A probability-proportionate-to-size sampling method was adopted to survey from all 14 townships in Yiwu city, China. All participants were investigated by face-to-face interview on Portable Android Devices. The continuous variables were presented by mean and standard deviation or medium and inter-quartile range (IQR). The categorical variables were presented using percentage or constituent ratio. Chi-square test for univariate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis were conducted to assess the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, respectively. Results A total of 3034 respondents across all the 14 townships and the 50 natural villages/streets completed all key items of the questionnaire. Of 2400 (79.10%) respondents stated that they experienced cough in the past 12 months with the medium age of 36.5 (IQR: 26–49) and 12.21% (293/2400) respondents had the non-prescription antibiotic use behavior. Among those 293 respondents, the proportion of non-prescription antibiotic use for cough peaked at around 16% among people aged 30–39 years old. The major sources of antibiotics were pharmacy (77.70%) and/or family storage (43.92%). Conclusions Non-prescription antibiotics use for cough is prevalent in the community, especially among people in their thirties. Strengthened drug purchase regulation and well-trained professional pharmacists would be promising alternatives to ameliorate AMR. Moreover, penetrating antibiotics knowledge to common citizens and is an urgent task to alleviate antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, proactive policies and regulations should be made to improve current situations.


2021 ◽  
pp. 00429-2021
Author(s):  
Marta A. Kisiel ◽  
Xingwu Zhou ◽  
Eythor Björnsson ◽  
Mathias Holm ◽  
Anna Dahlman-Höglund ◽  
...  

AimThe aim of this study was to investigate occupational, environmental, early life, and other risk factors associated with respiratory infections and antibiotics use, in a general population and among asthmatics.MethodThis study included 15 842 participants of the RHINE study aged 25–54 years from five Nordic countries, who answered a questionnaire covering respiratory outcomes, exposures, demographic characteristics and numbers of infections and courses of antibiotics the last 12 months. Multiple logistic regression with and without adjustment for age, gender, smoking status, BMI and center were used to study the risk of infection and antibiotics in relation to asthma, and also the association between infection and antibiotics and occupations.ResultsIn the whole population, 11.6% reported having three or more respiratory infections, and 14.7% had used antibiotics because of respiratory tract infections within the last year. Asthmatics reported a tripled odd for such infections (adjusted OR (95% CI) 2.98 (2.53–3.52) and antibiotics use (adjusted OR 3.67 (3.18–4.24) as compared to non-asthmatics. Both in the general and the asthmatic population, female gender, obesity and exposure to building dampness were associated with respiratory infections. Female gender, and current smoking and living in Tartu were associated with antibiotic use. The use of antibiotics was doubled in people hospitalised for severe respiratory infection in childhood.ConclusionIn this study we identified several factors associated with increased respiratory infections and use of antibiotics in a general population and among asthmatics. The frequency of respiratory infections and subsequent antibiotic treatment were increased among asthmatics.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261368
Author(s):  
Abul Kalam ◽  
Shahanaj Shano ◽  
Mohammad Asif Khan ◽  
Ariful Islam ◽  
Narelle Warren ◽  
...  

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health crisis that is now impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known how COVID-19 risks influence people to consume antibiotics, particularly in contexts like Bangladesh where these pharmaceuticals can be purchased without a prescription. This paper identifies the social drivers of antibiotics use among home-based patients who have tested positive with SARS-CoV-2 or have COVID-19-like symptoms. Using qualitative telephone interviews, the research was conducted in two Bangladesh cities with 40 participants who reported that they had tested positive for coronavirus (n = 20) or had COVID-19-like symptoms (n = 20). Our analysis identified five themes in antibiotic use narratives: antibiotics as ‘big’ medicine; managing anxiety; dealing with social repercussions of COVID-19 infection; lack of access to COVID-19 testing and healthcare services; and informal sources of treatment advice. Antibiotics were seen to solve physical and social aspects of COVID-19 infection, with urgent ramifications for AMR in Bangladesh and more general implications for global efforts to mitigate AMR.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-41
Author(s):  
Thejaswini Karanth ◽  
Someswar Deb ◽  
Lal Ruatpuii Zadeng ◽  
Rajeswari Ramasamy ◽  
Teena Nazeem ◽  
...  

Objective to assess the impact of pharmacist assisted counselling in improving Parental Knowledge, Attitude and Practice [KAP] towards antibiotic use in children. A Prospective, Educational Interventional Study was conducted in 200 subjects, from the randomly chosen communities in Bangalore. The investigators did door to door visit. The primary demographics data of parents and their children were collected using standard Case Report Form (CRF), and the baseline towards antibiotic use in Children was obtained from parents using validated Questionnaire. In the presence of both parents, only one was supposed to answer the Questionnaire. Pharmacist assisted parent centred interventional counselling was provided with the help of Patient Information Leaflet1s (PIL). Follow-up and post interventional KAP assessment were done after two months from the baseline measurement. The changes in parental KAP towards antibiotics use in children were being assessed by comparing the Pretest and Posttest responses using statistical analysis. The knowledge of parents towards antibiotic use in children was medium to good in the baseline KAP assessment; however, in the majority of the participating parents it was not satisfactory in attitude and practice domains. A statistically significant improvement was seen in the KAP of parents towards antibiotic use in children after the pharmacist assisted interventional counselling. Thus, Investigators could bring excellent changes in the knowledge part; whereas the result for changes in the Attitude and Practice was good to medium respectively.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Iltaf Hussain ◽  
Nisa Yousaf ◽  
Sana Haider ◽  
Pervisha Jalil ◽  
Muhammad Usman Saleem ◽  
...  

The irrational use of antimicrobials has enormously contributed to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally and especially in the developing world. To assess the knowledge and perception regarding AMR and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in university students enrolled in pharmacy, veterinary, and biology programs by using an online self-administered questionnaire. The Chi-square and Fisher exact tests (where applicable) were performed to assess the association of the demographics with the students’ knowledge and perception regarding AMR and AMS. A total of 496 students completed the questionnaire, among which, 85.7% of the participants were familiar with the term AMR and 79.4% of the participants correctly identified a poorly designed dosing regimen as a contributing factor towards AMR. The majority of participants (57.9%) were familiar with the term AMS and 86.5% were aware of the aim of AMS. The participants showed good knowledge regarding AMR and AMS, but to further improve student knowledge and perception of AMS and AMR, it is suggested that dedicated modules on antibiotic use and AMS should be incorporated into the curricula of these undergraduate and postgraduate programs.


Author(s):  
Kayley D. McCubbin ◽  
John W. Ramatowski ◽  
Esther Buregyeya ◽  
Eleanor Hutchinson ◽  
Harparkash Kaur ◽  
...  

AbstractSince the introduction of antibiotics into mainstream health care, resistance to these drugs has become a widespread issue that continues to increase worldwide. Policy decisions to mitigate the development of antimicrobial resistance are hampered by the current lack of surveillance data on antibiotic product availability and use in low-income countries. This study collected data on the antibiotics stocked in human (42) and veterinary (21) drug shops in five sub-counties in Luwero district of Uganda. Focus group discussions with drug shop vendors were also employed to explore antibiotic use practices in the community. Focus group participants reported that farmers used human-intended antibiotics for their livestock, and community members obtain animal-intended antibiotics for their own personal human use. Specifically, chloramphenicol products licensed for human use were being administered to Ugandan poultry. Human consumption of chloramphenicol residues through local animal products represents a serious public health concern. By limiting the health sector scope of antimicrobial resistance research to either human or animal antibiotic use, results can falsely inform policy and intervention strategies. Therefore, a One Health approach is required to understand the wider impact of community antibiotic use and improve overall effectiveness of intervention policy and regulatory action.


Author(s):  
Gregory Merlo ◽  
Minyon Avent ◽  
Trent Yarwood ◽  
Bonnie Smith ◽  
Mieke van Driel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Australian National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy calls for a collaborative effort to change practices that have contributed to the development of drug-resistance and for implementation of new initiatives to reduce antibiotic use. Methods A facilitated workshop was undertaken at the 2019 National Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Forum to explore the complexity of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) implementation in Australia and prioritise future action. Participants engaged in rotating rounds of discussion using a world café format addressing six topics relating to AMS implementation. Once all tables had discussed all themes the discussion concluded and notes were summarised. The documents were independently openly coded by two researchers to identify elements relating to the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship. Results There were 39 participants in the facilitated discussions, including pharmacists, infectious disease physicians, infection prevention nurses, and others. Participants discussed strategies they had found successful, including having a regular presence in clinical areas, adapting messaging and implementation strategies for different disciplines, maintaining positivity, and being patient-focused. Many of the recommendations for the next step involved being patient focussed and outcomesdriven. This involves linking data to practice, using patient stories, using data to celebrate wins and creating incentives. Discussion Recommendations from the workshop should be included in priority setting for the implementation of AMS initiatives across Australia.


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