Understanding antibiotic purchasing practices in community pharmacies: A potential driver of emerging antimicrobial resistance.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a transboundary health issue, critically impacting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where 80% of antibiotics are used in the community, with 20-50% being inappropriate. Southeast-Asia, including Bangladesh, faces heightened AMR risk due to suboptimal healthcare standard and unregulated antibiotic sales. This study aimed to audit antibiotic dispensing patterns from community pharmacies, identifying factors influencing purchasing behaviors.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey of 385 antibiotic customers and structured observations of 1000 pharmacy dispensing events were conducted in four urban and rural areas in Bangladesh. Descriptive analysis defined antibiotic use, while Poisson regression examined how patients' demographics

SUBMITTER: Al Masud A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11419887 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature