Topical antibiotics for the treatment of upper respiratory tract diseases

Actuality. Antibiotic resistance includes the unjustified use of topical antibacterial agents. Objective. To study the frequency of topical and systemic antibacterial drugs among adults with symptoms of otorhinolaryngological diseases over the past 6 months and the role of physicians in prescribing antibacterial drugs. Methods: online questioning of adults. The data from a survey of 111 respondents aged over 18 years were analyzed. A group (61 out of 111) of respondents (54.96%) experiencing symptoms of otorhinolaryngological diseases and using medications 6 months before the survey was conducted was identified. Results: 31.15% of respondents took systemic antibiotics. Of all respondents who received a systemic antibacterial drug, only 14 out of 19 (73.68%) took it as prescribed by a physician and 1 (2.38%) was prescribed by a pharmacist. At the same time, the respondents used all topical antibacterial drugs — 4 cases (6.6%) without the recommendation of a physician or pharmacist. Conclusion. The prevalence of topical antibacterial drugs for the treatment of upper respiratory tract diseases among the study population was low, but the frequency of their use without the appointment of a specialist was high.