Comprehension of antibiotic instructions in an outpatient Malaysian practice

Patients may not comply with antibiotic instructions because they do not understand them. The aim of this study was to assess outpatients' ability to comprehend their antibiotic prescription labels. Two hundred and five subjects on oral antibiotic regimens from an outpatient clinic and pharmacy of a district hospital were selected in this survey. All patients were interviewed by trained clinical pharmacy students. They were asked to read the labels and then how they would take their antibiotics. The results show that 119 (58.1%) patients could interpret the label. Forty-nine (23.9%) patients knew the name of antibiotics and interpreted the directions of use correctly. One hundred sixteen (56.6%) subjects were able to recall the auxiliary information. However, only 44 (21.4%) patients were able to comprehend complete antibiotic instruction. This study demonstrates that a significant proportion of patients could not interpret the labeling instruction. The comprehension level of patients was low and significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the ability of patient to read the label contents. These observations illustrate the need for physicians and pharmacists to provide antibiotic instructions and review these instructions with the patient.