Andrea Szabo, Mario Gajdacs and Edit Paulik
University of Szeged, Hungary
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Infec Dis Treat
Antibiotic resistance is one of the major global public health threats. In Hungary, the level of antibiotic resistance is one of the highest among EU countries; however, some health care professionals still neglect this problem. One of the main reasons for development of resistance is non-prudent use of antibiotics (e.g., broad spectrum agents or unjustified indications). 90% of the antibiotics are used in outpatient care in Hungary; therefore, the proper attitude of primary health care professionals (general practitioners-GPs and pharmacists) is extremely essential. The aim of this questionnaire-based study was to reveal the problem perception of antibiotic resistance and the driving forces behind non-prudent use of antibiotics. 105 physicians (mostly GPs) and 192 pharmacists completed the questionnaires; additionally, to reveal the roots of the manner, 161 pregraduate medical students were also involved in the study. 10% of GPs thought that antibiotic resistance is not a problem in Hungary, while pharmacists were totally aware of it. Likewise, worse attitude of physicians was observed in considering antibiotics of critical importance and in giving detailed advice to patients on proper use of antibiotics. One third of doctors thought that culturing the microorganism in question is unnecessary for choosing the appropriate therapy; and one quarter of them agreed with using broad spectrum antibiotics to make the therapy easier. More pharmacists (44% vs. 25% of GPs) admit that they are markedly influenced by the temperament of patients, resulting in dispensing antibiotics without prescription in case of pharmacists and prescribing antibiotics without rational indications in case of physicians. Medical students’ responses were very similar to the licensed physicians’ indicating that the root of the commitment originates from the university studies. Our results underline the role of primary health care professionals in fighting off antibiotic resistance and confirm the instant need for complex antibiotic stewardship program in Hungary.
Andrea Szabo has graduated as a Pharmacist and has completed her PhD in Interdisciplinary Medicine at the University of Szeged. She has done post-doctoral studies in the Department of Public Health at the same university. She is working as an Assistant Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. She has broad interdisciplinary experience in Neurotoxicology, Nanotoxicology, Nutritional Epidemiology, Epidemiology of Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases, and Antimicrobial Stewardship. She has participated in the development of the Hungarian methodological guideline for antimicrobial stewardship in the framework of a funded Human Resource Development program. Her recent research interest is the knowledge, attitude and practice related to antibiotic resistance and infectious diseases among different populations. She is the Principal Investigator of this research. She has published 48 papers in reputed journals.
E-mail: szabo.andrea@med.u-szeged.hu
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