Exploring Antibiotic Use And Self-Medication Practices Among Medical Students At Rawalpindi Medical University

Introduction: The irrational use of antibiotics is a growing global concern, leading to increased resistance and treatment failures. Medical students, due to their academic exposure, are at high risk of self-prescription and misuse of antibiotics, which can have significant public health implications. Objectives: To find the platitude of antibiotic usage among the undergraduate medical professionals of Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU), Rawalpindi. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was undertaken in the Pharmacology Department of Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi. 250 undergraduate students (50 from each class) from all years of study were included in the study. A predesigned questionnaire was distributed to participants. IBM Version 25 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 250 enrolled students, 239 responded to this project. Out of which 60% (n=30) of 1st year, 66% (n=33) of 2nd year, 74% (n=37) of 3rd year, 88% (n=44) of 4th year, and 64% (n=33) of 5th year participants used antibiotics since last 06 months. The percentage of self-prescription found was 23.3%(n=7), 33.3%(n=11), 40.5%(n=15), 16%(n=7), and 36.5%(n=12) in the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth professional years, respectively. Conclusion: As we moved from 1st year to 4th year students, the usage of antibiotics was increasing and so was the percentage of self-prescription from 1st year to 3rd year students. In the final year, students used antibiotics less and self-prescribed less. There was a significant difference among the participants considering the ill use of antibiotics nowadays.