Evaluation of public knowledge of rational antibiotics use for upper respiratory tract infections

The aim: To assess public knowledge of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections. Methodology: From 2014 October till 2016 March in Lithuanian University of Health Sciences University Hospital (LSMU) a prospective cross-sectional study was performed using original anonymous questionnaire. A total of 461 out of 600 administered questionnaires were analised. Descriptive and comparative statistical data analysis was processed with SPSS. Results: Nearly three-quarters of respondents (74.2 proc.) claimed that they had used antibiotics at some point in their life. The most common used antibiotic for upper respiratory tract infections - amoxicillin. Nearly one-third of the respondents (32.6 proc.) could not identify before used antibiotic name or indicated for other pharmaceutical groups classified drugs. Almost half of respondents (47.1 proc.) believed that antibiotics are effective against viral infections, over a quarter of respondents (27.8 proc.) stated that antibiotics are equally effective against bacterial and viral infections. The prevalence of self-medication was about (38.0proc.). Slightly more than half of the antibiotic users (51.2 proc.) stated that they had bought or used antibiotics without prescription at some point in life. The statistical data analysis showed that knowledge depends on the gender (p<0.01), place of residence (p=0.01) and education level (p