Knowledge, attitude and perception survey of doctors regarding antibiotic use and resistance in Karachi, Pakistan

To establish a better understanding of physicians' knowledge and beliefs, and to compare distinctions in knowledge, attitude and perception of junior and senior doctors regarding rational use of antibiotics.

The cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, from June 1 to July 31, 2016, and comprised senior and junior doctors. A 26-item questionnaire divided in three sections was used to test knowledge, attitude and perception of the subjects regarding rational use of antibiotics. Data was analysed using SPSS 23.

Of the 200 subjects, 132(66%) were senior doctors; 68(34%) were junior; 116(58%) were females; 84(42%) were males; and the highest number of respondents were from General Medicine 65(32.5%). While 182(91%) doctors realised that antibiotic resistance was a pressing issue, only 131(65.5%) felt confident about their prescriptions and 94(47%) admitted that they over-prescribed antibiotics. Among young physicians, 13(19.1%) believed that antibiotics did not cause side effects even when prescribed unnecesarily. Also, 47(69.1%) junior doctors felt that patients' demands influenced their prescriptions compared to 66(50%) senior doctors (p=0.01).

Although physicians were found to be knowledgeable about rational use of antibiotics, there were gaps in knowledge and perception.