[Analysis of automedication with antibiotics in Spain].
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of automedication with antibiotics in Spain, analyzing the magnitude, importance and possible consequences of this problem.


METHODS
A quantitative study was carried out in the pharmacies by personal interview with people who had acquired a pharmaceutical speciality. The study was performed according to territorial distribution proportional to the population of different autonomic communities and urban and rural environments. The questionnaires were done over one year with four cut offs, each coinciding with one of the annual seasons.


RESULTS
Automedication with antibiotics was observed in 32.1% of the people who had acquired an antibiotic in a pharmacy, being 28.8% with pharmaceutical specialities acquired. In 20% of the cases (18.1% of the specialities), automedication was produced by direct request of the user, while in 12.1% of the cases (10.7% of the specialities) this was by recommendation by the pharmacist/ pharmaceutical auxillary. Of the people obtaining an antibiotic by self-medication, two out of three acquired a wide-ranging semisynthetic penicillin, while 23% acquired a macrolide. The remaining therapeutic subgroups acquired were tetracyclins (3.3%) and cephalosporins, quinolones and cotrimoxazoles being 1.6% each. Automedication was most frequent in people from 30 to 39 years of age (36.1%) followed by those from 40 to 49 years (29.5%). Men showed a slightly greater incidence than women with 39% of the women acquiring an antibiotic directly doing so for someone other than themselves. Pharyngoamigdalitis was the most frequent process for which an antibiotic was acquired by automedication (34.5% of the cases). The most frequent therapeutic schedule was three times a day for one week. There was little correspondence between the dosage schedule and length of treatment and the number of doses contained in the drug acquired.


CONCLUSIONS
Antibiotic automedication is a widespread practice in Spain, specially in the treatment of infectious respiratory and bucal processes. Together with therapeutic unfulfillment and storage of antibiotics in the homes, automedication is currently one of the most serious problems in antibioticotherapy since it is frequently accompanied by bad usage. Health care education programs should be developed with the aim of making the public aware of the negative effects of automedication and orienting patients as to the rational use of antibiotics.
Orero González
A
A
Centro de Salud Paseo de Extremadura, Madrid.
Ripoll Lozano
M A
MA
González Núñez
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012651:Self Medication; D013030:Spain
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents