TY - JOUR T1 - Studying the knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotic misuse among Alexandria population JF - European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy JO - Eur J Hosp Pharm SP - 349 LP - 354 DO - 10.1136/ejhpharm-2016-001032 VL - 24 IS - 6 AU - Raghda M El-Hawy AU - Mohamed I Ashmawy AU - Menna M Kamal AU - Hager A Khamis AU - Naglaa M Abo El-Hamed AU - Gehad I Eladely AU - Mayar H Abdo AU - Yosra Hashem AU - Marwa Ramadan AU - Dalia A Hamdy Y1 - 2017/11/01 UR - http://ejhp.bmj.com/content/24/6/349.abstract N2 - Aim To assess knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of antimicrobial self-medication among a convenience sample of population in Alexandria, Egypt.Methodology A descriptive cross-sectional study using a self-administrated semi-constructed questionnaire. A convenience sample of 359 participants was studied using appropriate consent. The questionnaire had four sections: demographics, KAP, professional medical knowledge and attitude of children caregivers toward antimicrobial self-medication. The questionnaire was initially constructed in English and then translated into its final Arabic version. The Arabic version was pilot-tested and face-validated. Descriptive and quantitative analysis were performed using SPSS (V.20.0).Results Approximately 64% (231) of the studied population used antibiotics without prescription in the past 12 months. This was significantly correlated with female gender and lack of knowledge. The main reason for self-medication was due to saving time and effort (109, 47%) followed by not preferring doctor visits (89, 39%). More than 60% of cases used amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. The main sources of antibiotics were leftovers from previously prescribed pharmaceuticals and those purchased from community pharmacies. 85 participants were young children caregivers of which 18 (21%) reported administering antibiotics to their children without consulting a physician. Out of 115 who claimed attaining medical background, only 30 (26%) managed to answer section 3 correctly with 23 of them reporting antibiotic self-medication.Conclusion This study showed an increased tendency towards antibiotic self-medication among Alexandrian adults and children that was not significantly decreased in population with medical background. The reasons discussed within the study should be further addressed to decrease such practice. ER -