[Level of knowledge of antibiotics prescribed in outpatients]

The lack of patient knowledge about their medication is considered to be one of the main reasons for an inappropriate use.

This study the level of knowledge in patients about their prescribed antibiotic, and describes some of the factors related to this.

A cross-sectional, descriptive and observational study with an analytical component. SITE: A community pharmacy in Murcia.

The study form was offered to all customers who arrived to obtain antibiotics while the study was taking place. A validated form was used to determined the level of knowledge was a validated form.

A total of 126 patients, most of them women, with an average age of 44.6 years were included. Half of the study population had no knowledge which could ensure the correct use of the antibiotic they were taking. The «process of use» of the medication was the best known dimension by the study population, followed by the «therapeutic aim». The dimension related to the «safety» of the medication was the one with the lowest values. After a logistic regression, a link between the knowledge of the antibiotic and the «know the name of the antibiotic» (p=.05; r=2.15) and the «number of antibiotic the patient takes» (p=.02; r=0.30) variables.

The results show that there is a certain lack of information on the use of antibiotics by the study sample. Thes results could help to show the way to follow in future studies, targeted to meet the need of information.