Jorgji K, Bebeci E, Apostoli P, Apostoli A
University of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Professional Chemistries and Pharmacognosy, Tirana, Albania.
Gastroenterologist at "Olympus" Private Medical Clinic, Fier, Albania.
Hippokratia. 2014 Jul-Sep;18(3):217-20.
Self-medication is defined as the utilization of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms, or the irregular or continuous use of a prescribed drug for chronic or repeated diseases or symptoms. The main problem with self-medication with antimicrobials is the emergence of pathogenic resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is an existing problem world-wide, mainly in developing countries. The aims and objectives of the study presented in this article are to evaluate the prevalence of purchase of antibiotics without prescription and appropriateness of use among adults and to determine the impact of the education level on the sensibility level over the use of antibiotics.
This was a questionnaire based study of 3 month duration. The study includes data from 350 young adults (182 men/172 women, mean age ± SD: 34.72 ± 13.7 years), who visited ten different pharmacies located in the city of Tirana and the "Olympus" Private Medical Clinic in Fier between December 2012 and March 2013. Also a part of questionnaires was distributed by e-mail.
The results of this study showed that out of 350 young adults, 273 (78.14%) of them used antibiotics as self medication. The most common reasons for self administration of antibiotics were fever 171 (29.23%), sore throat 170 (29.06%) and cough 83 (14.19%). In this study we observed that the most common source of information regarding self-medication is the pharmacy (community pharmacists) 166 (36.40%) and most common antibiotic used as self-medication is amoxicillin 70 (19.39%). Authors also determined the impact of education level over the use of antibiotics. The results showed that adults with low and medium education level (7.986% and 43.056% respectively) were most likely to use antibiotics as self-medication.
The findings from this study highlight the striking prevalence of self-medication among young adults in Albania and the lack of awareness about the risks associating their use. We recommend that a holistic approach must be taken to prevent this problem from escalating which would involve awareness and education regarding the implications of self medication, strategies to prevent the supply of medicines without prescription by pharmacies and strict rules regarding pharmaceutical advertising.Hippokratia 2014; 18 (3): 217-220.
自我药疗被定义为使用药物治疗自我诊断的病症或症状，或针对慢性或反复出现的疾病或症状不定期或持续使用处方药。使用抗菌药物进行自我药疗的主要问题是出现病原体耐药性。抗菌药物耐药性是一个全球性问题，在发展中国家尤为突出。本文所呈现研究的目的是评估成年人无处方购买抗生素的情况及使用的合理性，并确定教育水平对使用抗生素的认知程度的影响。
这是一项为期3个月的基于问卷调查的研究。该研究纳入了2012年12月至2013年3月期间访问地拉那市十家不同药店以及发罗拉“奥林匹斯”私人医疗诊所的350名年轻人（182名男性/172名女性，平均年龄±标准差：34.72±13.7岁）的数据。部分问卷也通过电子邮件分发。
本研究结果显示，在350名年轻人中，273人（78.14%）将抗生素用作自我药疗。自我服用抗生素最常见的原因是发烧171人（29.2
