Abstract:
Background: Any substance that inhibits the growth and replication of a bacterium or kills
it outright can be called as an antibiotic. Misuse of antibiotic lead to global health problem
such as antibiotic resistance. The reduction of patient compliance leads to irrational use of
antibiotics.
Objectives:To study the adherence to antibiotic regimens by patients who take antibiotic
from outdoor pharmacy in THK and to identify common types of malpractices leading to
non-adherence to the regimens.
Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted. Patient data were
collected in OPD in THK, when patient collect antibiotics from pharmacy. After three days,
patient compliance was collected using telephone conversation.
Results and conclusions: 43.9% of participants were males. 56.4% of participants were
females. 62.35% of participants responded to the follow up telephone calls. 45% of
participants showed overall good compliance to the regimen. There was no relationship
between socio-demographic data of patients and compliance to the regimen. Better
compliance was found with bd (60%) than tds (47.3%) and qds (33%) antibiotic
formulations. The antibiotic type with highest compliance was Ciprofloxacin (63.9%).
Erythromycin was the antibiotic with least patient compliance. The major reasons for
noncompliance were forgetfulness (30.9%), side effects (13.1%), deliberately avoiding
(11.4%) and family commitments (11.4%). Overall compliance for antibiotic was
unsatisfactory. With the increase of the frequency of regimen, the patient compliance
decreased. The patient compliance depended on the complexity of the regimen and the type
of the antibiotic. Socio-demographic data was not influenced by the patient compliance. The
major reasons for noncompliance were identified as forgetting to take a dose, experience of
side effect, family commitments and deliberately avoiding.
