Self-Medication with Antibiotics Among Out-Patient Attendants Prior to Medical Consultation at A Tertiary Care Hospital - A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: One of the greatest threats to global development and public health is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The ability of bacteria and other microbes to resist the drugs used to inactivate them is known as AMR. According to estimates, bacterial AMR caused 4.95 million fatalities worldwide in 2019 in addition to directly causing 1.27 million deaths. Methodology: In this cross-sectional descriptive study using convenient sampling method, 422 out patients were recruited from the tertiary care hospital in our district between December 2023 and March 2024. We inquired about sociodemographic characteristics and reasons for self-medicating with antibiotics. Results: 353(83.6%) patients were self-medicating due to previous successful use of antibiotic. 122(28.9%) believed that antibiotics are used to treat all infections. 80 (18.95%) participants in the age group of 36- 44 years were self-medicating with antibiotic (