Abstract:
Background: Irrational use of antibiotics can cause adverse drug reactions, treatment failure
and drug resistance. It is a known fact that antibiotics are often used for viral infections such
as common cold and influenza. However still acute respiratory infections are a common
reason for unnecessary prescription of antibiotics.
Objectives: To assess the prevalence of antibiotic usage among patients with symptoms
suggestive of influenza and common cold for less than three days who received treatment
from the outpatient department (OPD) of Teaching Hospital Karapitiya (THK), Galle
Methodology: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 612 patients
attending the OPD of THK. Convenient sampling was used to select participants for the
study. A pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect information.
Results and conclusions: Antibiotics have been prescribed to 71.9% (n=440) of patients
from the total sample. Amoxicillin (80.7%) was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic
for patients. Antibiotic prescription for youngers (≤12yrs) was less than for older persons
(>12yrs). Sore throat 69.3% (n=305), runny nose 54.5% (n=240), cough 82.7% (n=364) and
hoarseness 46.8% (n=206) were frequently considered symptoms for prescribing antibiotics.
Although there was no relationship between duration of symptoms and antibiotic
prescription (p>0.05), there was a relationship between presenting symptoms and antibiotic
prescription (p<0.05). There were 72.7% (n=227) of patients prescribed with antibiotics
when symptoms presented less than 48 hours (n=304), 70.9% (n=221) were prescribed from
symptom presented more than 48 hours (n=320). Results revealed high frequency of
antibiotic prescription for symptom suggestive of viral infections. Duration of symptoms do
not affect on prescribing antibiotics. Amoxicillin was the most commonly used antibiotic for
these patients.
