The inventory of antibiotics in Russian home medicine cabinets.
The objective of this study was to inventory the stock of antimicrobials in the home medicine cabinets (HMCs) of the general population in Russia and to find out for which indications people report that they would use antibiotics without a physician's recommendation. The research was performed in 9 Russian cities by physicians who visited households. An inventory of antibiotics in HMCs was made, and respondents were asked about instances in which they would choose automedication with antibiotics. We found that 83.6% of families had antibiotics for systemic use in HMCs. The most common antibiotics in HMCs were trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (46.3% of HMCs), ampicillin (45.1%), chloramphenicol (32.7%), erythromycin (25.5%), and tetracycline (21.8%). The major indications for automedication with antibiotics were acute viral respiratory tract infections (12.3% of total indications), cough (11.8%), intestinal disorders (11.3%), fever (9%), and sore throat (6.8%). According to this study, antibiotics are widely stocked among the general population in Russia, and people use antibiotics in an uncontrolled and imprudent manner.
Stratchounski
L S
LS
Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Smolensk State Medical Academy, Smolensk, Russia. str@antibiotic.ru
Andreeva
I V
IV
Ratchina
S A
SA
Galkin
D V
DV
Petrotchenkova
N A
NA
Demin
A A
AA
Kuzin
V B
VB
Kusnetsova
S T
ST
Likhatcheva
R Y
RY
Nedogoda
S V
SV
Ortenberg
E A
EA
Belikov
A S
AS
Toropova
I A
IA
D000667:Ampicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002701:Chloramphenicol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D012426:Russia; D012651:Self Medication; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D004917:Erythromycin; D002701:Chloramphenicol; D000667:Ampicillin; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination; D013752:Tetracycline