Community Usage Pattern of Antibiotics within Lebanese Population: A Prospective Study

Malak Khalifeh^{1, 2,} , Nicholas Moore¹ and Pascale Salameh²

¹Pharmaco-épidémiologie et évaluation de l'impact des produits de santé sur les populations, University de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

²Clinical & Epidemiological Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon

Cite this paper:
Malak Khalifeh, Nicholas Moore and Pascale Salameh. Community Usage Pattern of Antibiotics within Lebanese Population: A Prospective Study. American Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. 2017; 5(2):49-56. doi: 10.12691/ajps-5-2-5

Abstract

Introduction: Antibiotic misuse is a worldwide public health problem and a major cause of antibiotic resistance. Objective: The aim of this study therefore was to describe the usage pattern of antibiotics in Lebanon. Method: It is a prospective study in a community-based pharmacy setting in Lebanon. It uses a structured random interview to patients visiting community pharmacy seeking for antibiotics. Baseline characteristics and reason for self-medication were collected. Completing a self-administered questionnaire after 30 days provided information on safety, efficacy and usage pattern. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Results: 62.7% of 501 participants bought antibiotic without prescription. Pharmacists were the main helpers (34.7%). Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid was the most used antibiotic as self-medication (33.7%). The overall average dispensation was 9.07 DDD for short term use (< 2 weeks). In the follow up, the average DDD consumed by patient was7.07 DDD and 62.5% were consumed between 1 to 7 DDD. The average request per year was 3.35 which was significantly higher in patients without prescription than with prescription (p= .029).Males were dispensed more DDDs than females but the result was not significant. Patients with ages from 25-50 years old had significantly consumed more than 1 DDD per day (61.7%) compared to patients with age above than 50 years old (41%, p=.002). Conclusion: Antibiotic consumption in Lebanon is uncontrolled. Educational programs should be implemented for the public to reduce the usage of antibiotic.

Keywords:
self-medication antibiotic Lebanon usage pattern DDD

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