Antibiotic Use: Knowledge and Practice of Medical Undergraduate Students in Kolkata

Introduction Excessive use and misuse of antibiotics worldwide, both in human medicine and in agriculture has led to increased occurrence of bacterial resistance. Medical students should be aware of the judicious use of antibiotics, so that they can help the general population in future. Present study assesses knowledge of antibiotic use among first year undergraduate medical students and their practice in own life. Materials and Methods An observational, cross sectional study was conducted during a three-month period among first year undergraduate medical students of a teaching hospital in Kolkata. A validated self- administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were analyzed by using simple descriptive statistics. Wherever it was relevant, the Chi-square test was carried out to determine any significant difference. Results About 85% of the participants were aware of the indication of antibiotic for treating bacterial infections only. Around 44% of the students had an average knowledge score compared to 28% having good knowledge score. Majority (76%) of the medical students obtained last antibiotics by a doctor’s prescription, but 54% completed the course as advised by doctor and purpose of taking antibiotic was fever mainly (41%). Statistically significant (P< 0.05) difference on pattern of their antibiotic use was found according to their socioeconomic status and knowledge score. Conclusion Changing the prescribing behaviour and knowledge of the healthcare professionals can help a lot to achieve rational use of antibiotic. It is also suggested that giving a comprehensive training of antibiotic use to the medical students and creating their awareness about frequent antimicrobial resistance could be a successful and encouraging approach.