42^nd ICAAC Abstracts, American Society for Microbiology

September 27 - 30, 2002, San Diego, CA

Abstract # K-1089

The Inventory of Antibiotics in Home Medicine Cabinets - the Results of Russian Nation-Wide Study

LEONID S. STRATCHOUNSKI, IRINA V. ANDREEVA, SVETLANA A. RATCHINA

Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Smolensk, Russian Federation

BACKGROUND

One of the main reasons for antimicrobial resistance is uncontrolled and inappropriate use of antibiotics for systemic use (ASU) by population.

OBJECTIVE

To inventory the content of ASU in home medicine cabinets (HMCs) of the non-medical population in Russian cities and to find out for which indications people report they would use ASU on their own.

METHODS

The study was carried out in 12 Russian cities by a physician (interviewer), who after obtaining preliminary permission visited households. An inventory of ASU in HMCs was conducted and respondents were asked about instances when they would choose automedication with ASU. One hundred families were randomly selected and evaluated in each city.

RESULTS

998/1200 families (83.2%) had ASU in their HMCs. The average number of ASU per a family was 2.6. Two and more names of ASU were had 72.2% of families. The most prevalent ASU in HMCs were co-trimoxazole - 47.3%, ampicillin - 44.8%, chloramphenicol - 34%, erythromycin - 24.8%, tetracycline - 24.3%, doxycycline - 10.7%, sulfonamides - 6.9%. Injectable antimicrobials were found in 10.5% of all HMCs. The percentage of ASU with expired dates in HMC was 17.6% (among total quantity of ASU) and antibiotics with expired dates was had 29.3% of families. The respondents stated that they would use ASU on their own (without checking with a physician) in 85.9% of cases. The most frequent indications for automedication were (in percentage of the total quantity of indications): cough - 12.6%, acute respiratory tract infections (influenza, common cold) - 11.9%, diarrhoea - 11.6%, fever - 10.1%, sore throat - 7.9%, acute tonsillitis - 5.2%.

CONCLUSION

Antimicrobials are widely prevalent among inhabitants in Russia. Most of the "popular" ASU (co-trimoxazole, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, sulfonamides) may cause serious adverse drug reactions. Such uncontrolled use of antibiotics can promote antibiotic resistance.