Table 3. Antibiotics Used in Self-medication, Inappropriate Use, and Source.

NA: not available

Study	Inappropriate drug use	Most common antibiotics used	Source of drugs
Tshokey et al. [13]	13.1% shared antibiotics with other people 19.0% saved antibiotics for later use	NA	NA
Biswas et al. [14]	NA	Metronidazole (50.43%) Azithromycin (20.75%) Ciprofloxacin (11.53%) Amoxicillin (10.37%) Tetracycline (7.49%)	Pharmacies
Seam et al. [15]	NA	NA	Pharmacies
Shubha et al. [16]	Switch-over of antibiotics inbetween (12.79%) Abrupt stoppage (15.12%)	Amoxicillin (70.93%) Azithromycin (20.06%) Ciprofloxacin (8.14%) Metronidazole (5.81%) Ofloxacin (4.65%)	Medicine at home/clinic
Biswas et al. [17]	NA	Metronidazole (67.4%) Azithromycin (32.6%) Norfloxacin (16.8%)	Leftover medicines at home Pharmacies
Nair et al. [18]	NA	Azithromycin (34.4%) Amoxicillin (29.4%) Fluoroquinolones (18.6%)	Pharmacies Left-over drugs from previous prescriptions Family/friends
Ahmad et al. [19]	NA	24.16% cephalosporin 21.16% of penicillin 16.16% of quinolone Tetracycline group (12.83%) Sulfonamides (10.16%) Macrolide groups of antibiotic (4.83%) Aminoglycoside (3.16%) Metronidazole (3.33%)	Family, friends, and neighbors Pharmacies Previous prescription
Pal et al. [20]	Only 72.2% of medical students and 33.3% of pharmacy students took full course of antibiotics	Amoxicillin Azithromycin	NA
Virmani et al. [21]	Very few completed the course once started	B-Lactams (Most common) Fluoroquinolones Macrolides Tetracycline	NA
Ganesan et al. [22]	NA	Amoxicillin (most common) Erythromycin Cephalosporin Azithromycin Norfloxacin	Pharmacies Friends Old prescription
Widayati et al. [23]	NA	Amoxicillin (most common) Ampicillin Fradiomisin-gramicidin Tetracycline ciprofloxacin	Pharmacies Drug stores Kiosks
Hadi et al. [24]	NA	Amoxicillin or ampicillin (most common) Tetracycline Cotrimoxazole Chloramphenicol Thiamphenicol	Pharmacies Drugstores Friends and relatives kiosks
Kurniawan et al. [25]	NA	Amoxicillin (68.3%) Ampicillin (26.1%) Cefadroxil  (1.1%) Others (5.3%)	Pharmacies Stalls Leftover antibiotics Friends or family
Kim et al. [26]	77.6% of respondents stopped taking the medication when they felt better	NA	NA
Sah et al. [27]	NA	Amoxicillin (33.9%) Azithromycin (14.9%) Ciprofloxacin (13.7%)	NA
Pant et al. [28]	Switched antibiotics Stopped the antibiotic use after the disappearance of the symptoms Stopped before finishing the course in a few days regardless of the outcome	Amoxicillin (most common) Metronidazole Azithromycin Ciprofloxacin Amoxicillin and clavulanic combination Cephalexin Ofloxacillin	Pharmacies
Banerjee et al. [29]	NA	Amoxicillin Azithromycin	Pharmacies
Rathish et al. [30]	NA	Amoxicillin (most common) Ciprofloxacin Co-amoxiclav Tetracycline Azithromycin Ciprofloxacin Cephalosporin	Pharmacies Relatives or friends Leftover drugs at home
Sirijoti et al. [31]	Distribute to another person who has the same symptoms Stop taking antibiotics as soon as symptoms are relieved Stock some antibiotics at home in case of emergency	NA	Leftover drugs at home Pharmacies