Evaluación del uso racional de antibiòticos betalactàmicos en Farmacias Comunitarias del cantòn Atacames, Esmeraldas

Abstract

The rational use of beta-lactam antibiotics was evaluated in five community pharmacies of the Atacames Canton, Esmeraldas, to determine the factors of the inappropriate use of beta-lactams in the population. The sample consisted of 15 pharmacy clerks and users who acquired betalactams with and without a prescription during the June-September 2020 period. The data were obtained by applying user surveys, a checklist, interviews with dependents and a data collection sheet. For the tabulation and data analysis. Excel and SPSS 21 were used for tabulation and data analysis. Information was collected from 527 users, where it was found that factors such as: lack of understanding of the prescription 57%, non-compliance with the treatment schedule 100%, use of antibiotics in flu and colds 41% and low economic resources; with lead to improper use. The results also showed that there is a high non-compliance with the dispensing protocols in community pharmacies, since 100% did not request a prescription and did not provide sufficient information regarding the antibiotics requested by users. 4178 beta-lactam antibiotics were dispensed, 59.20% without prescription and 40.79% with prescription, in which penicillin and cephalosporins had the highest number of requests with 71.33% and 28.67% respectively. Based on the results obtained, information brochures were prepared in order to raise awareness among the population about the best use of antibiotics. It was concluded that there is the irrational use of antibiotics in pharmacy users and dependents, having as a factor to consider the low levels of knowledge. Further measures are recommended to complement the information on users regarding the drugs administered, in order to prevent events of adverse reactions and promote the rational use of antibiotics.