Younis Omar, Abed Mohammad Taleb, Anabseh Yaqoot, Hamshari Suha, Ktaifan Mahfouz, Zyoud Sa'ed H
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, 44839, Palestine.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, 44839, Palestine.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 Apr 28;25(1):624. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07094-x.
Medical students' inappropriate propranolol use, driven by exam stress, is a developing concern. This study examined propranolol misuse among Palestinian medical students at An-Najah National University.
This is a cross-sectional study that included second to sixth-year medical students at An-Najah National University in Palestine. An online self-administrated Arabic questionnaire was developed by researchers. This 29-question, three-section questionnaire was sent to eligible participants via university email and student Facebook groups. The data collection period extended from August to September 2023.
A total of 401 students participated in the survey. The majority of the respondents were females (227, 57%) and final-year medical students (137, 34%). The utilization of propranolol was identified in 12% in our study. About 60% engaged in self-prescribing doses ranging between 10 and 20 mg, with 56% falling within this range. The main motivation for self-prescribing was to alleviate anxiety symptoms (88%), particularly before objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) (89%) or presentations (39%). 68% of students expressed awareness of the potential side effects. Statistical analysis revealed significant associations between propranolol use and factors such as age (p < 0.001), academic year (p < 0.001), the presence of chronic diseases (p = 0.011), and psychoactive drug use (p = 0.045).
Propranolol was used by 12% of the surveyed medical students, with 89% of its users taking it before OSCEs. Despite being aware of its potential side effects, many students still chose to self-medicate, highlighting the role of stress-induced behavior. This emphasizes the importance of stress management strategies before difficult occasions in medical students' journey.
在考试压力的驱使下，医学生不当使用普萘洛尔的情况日益受到关注。本研究调查了纳贾赫国立大学巴勒斯坦医学生中普萘洛尔的滥用情况。
这是一项横断面研究，纳入了巴勒斯坦纳贾赫国立大学二至六年级的医学生。研究人员编制了一份在线自我管理的阿拉伯语问卷。这份包含29个问题、分为三个部分的问卷通过大学电子邮件和学生脸书群组发送给符合条件的参与者。数据收集期为2023年8月至9月。
共有401名学生参与了调查。大多数受访者为女性（227名，57%）和医学专业最后一年的学生（137名，34%）。在我们的研究中，12%的学生使用过普萘洛尔。约60%的学生自行开具的剂量在10至20毫克之间，其中56%的学生在此剂量范围内。自行开药的主要动机是缓解焦虑症状（88%），尤其是在客观结构化临床考试（OSCE）前（89%）或课堂展示前（39%）。68%的学生表示知晓潜在的副作用。统计分析显示，普萘洛尔的使用与年龄（p < 0.001）、学年（p < 0.001）、慢性病的存在（p = 0.011）以及精神活性药物的使用（p = 0.045）等因素之间存在显著关联。
12%的受访医学生使用过普萘洛尔，其中89%的使用者在OSCE前服用。尽管知晓其潜在副作用，但许多学生仍选择自行用药，凸显了压力诱发行为的作用。这强调了在医学生学习过程中，在困难场合前实施压力管理策略的重要性。
