Practice of antibiotics use and awareness of antimicrobial resistance among undergraduate medical students

Antibiotic resistance is one of the actual problems associated with the irrational use of antibiotics

The aim of study is to investigate practice of antibiotics use and awareness of antimicrobial resistance among undergraduate medical students Siberian State Medical University (SSMU).

Material and methods. A self-administered online questionnaire was used to assess the practice of antibiotic use and awareness of antimicrobial resistance among 5-6 year students of GP and pediatrician faculties of Siberian State Medical University.

Results. 334 students took part in the survey. During the last year, 58.1% of respondents used antibacterial drugs. The leading reasons for the use of antibiotics were: angina - 47.3%, viral infection of upper  airway- 24.4%, sinusitis and / or otitis - 20.2%, urinary tract infections - 18.3%, bronchitis - 11.5%, pneumonia - 8 %, acute intestinal infections - 5.7%. The most frequently used: amoxicillin / clavulanic acid -57.6%, amoxicillin - 29%, azithromycin - 19.4%, ciprofloxacin - 13.4%, cephalosporins of the 3rd generation - 8.1%, clarithromycin - 7.6%. Most of the students used antibiotics as prescribed by a doctor (58.8%) and adhered to the duration of treatment prescribed by the doctor. The vast majority of students (99.4%) are aware of the problem of antibiotic resistance and 95.8% consider this problem important for Russian medicine.

Conclusions. Undergraduate students of the Siberian State Medical University demonstrated adherence to medical recommendations regarding the use of antibiotics and a high awareness of the problem of antibiotic resistance.