Over-the-counter Sale of Antibiotics from Pharmaceutical Shops in Pune

Antibiotic resistance is a rising global problem rendering actions of Anti Microbial Agents to be ineffective. Incidence is higher in developing countries due to lack of regulatory policies thereby encouraging over the counter (OTC) sale of antibiotics. The study was planned to assess the extent of over the counter sale of antibiotics without prescription and the socio-economic and demographic factors associated. A cross sectional study was carried out in randomly selected 5 medical shops in Pune city, distributed over 5 different localities. 30 Individuals per each pharmacy were randomly selected. Thus the sample size was 150. The data was collected with the help of pre tested structured questionnaire. 45.34% individuals purchased antibiotics without prescription. Statistically significant difference was observed in OTC antibiotics purchase with respect to gender, locality, Type of house and Type of ailment. No significant difference was observed in OTC antibiotics purchase with respect to type of antibiotic. 45.33% took full treatment course and only 22% were aware of the importance of completing full course treatment. Strict regulations for discouraging over the counter sale of antibiotic should be implemented to prevent the rising trend of antimicrobial resistance in the country.