Table 3.
Attitude and practice of antibiotic prescriptions and antimicrobial resistance among physicians in Nigeria
| Sn | Attitude | Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| 1 | Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health issue worldwide | 79.3 | 18.5 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| 2 | Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health issue in Nigeria | 82.0 | 16.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| 3 | Antibiotic resistance is a problem in other hospitals but not in our hospital | 1.3 | 2.2 | 6.4 | 46.8 | 43.3 |
| 4 | Antibiotic could be used to prevent bacterial infection in patients with viral URTI | 6.6 | 20.4 | 12.3 | 29.6 | 31.2 |
| 5 | Any patient with fever would benefit from antibiotic therapy | 1.8 | 6.3 | 9.1 | 43.8 | 38.9 |
| 6 | Prolonged use of broad-spectrum antibiotics is a risk factor for antibiotic resistance | 42.9 | 38.9 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 3.8 |
| 7 | Patients may feel better if you prescribe antibiotics to satisfy their demands and expectations | 4.3 | 22.3 | 17.9 | 29.8 | 25.7 |
| 8 | There is nothing I can do as a person to lower the risk of antibiotic resistance in our hospital | 2.2 | 1.9 | 6.1 | 38.6 | 51.2 |
| 9 | There is no risk of resistance if antibiotics are taken as prescribed | 21.1 | 32.4 | 20.4 | 17.6 | 8.5 |
| 10 | Persons who have never taken antibiotics have no risk of resistance | 8.0 | 19.1 | 10.1 | 46.1 | 16.8 |
| 11 | It is better to stop antibiotics as soon as a patient feels better | 3.5 | 11.3 | 11.5 | 49.7 | 24.0 |
| 12 | Regular hand washing can prevent antibiotics resistance | 4.6 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 42.6 | 36.6 |
| 13 | A longer course of antibiotic is less likely to cause resistance than a short course | 7.8 | 19.2 | 18.6 | 37.7 | 16.7 |
| 14 | Pharmaceutical companies sometimes influence my choice of antibiotics | 9.1 | 40.5 | 15.2 | 24.0 | 11.2 |
| 15 | In hospital setting, antibiotic resistance could be transmitted from healthcare worker to patients | 26.7 | 37.2 | 12.0 | 15.2 | 8.9 |
| Practice | Always | Most of the time | Sometimes | Rarely | Never | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| 1 | Prescribe antibiotics for common cold | 1.4 | 3.3 | 28.0 | 44.1 | 23.2 |
| 2 | Prescribe antibiotics for pneumonia | 45.4 | 45.1 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| 3 | Prescribe antibiotics for malaria | 2.0 | 1.5 | 8.1 | 21.7 | 66.7 |
| 4 | Stop antibiotics immediately patient symptoms resolve | 1.4 | 5.0 | 15.8 | 26.5 | 51.4 |
| 5 | Prescribe antibiotics because patient insists on it | 0.2 | 0.8 | 11.2 | 27.8 | 60.0 |
| 6 | Prescribe antibiotics because you do not trust the available laboratory results | 1.1 | 8.6 | 61.9 | 17.4 | 10.9 |
| 7 | Wait for culture result before prescribing antibiotics | 0.8 | 10.6 | 49.2 | 30.5 | 8.9 |
| 8 | Prescribe antibiotics based on culture results | 17.9 | 48.0 | 28.7 | 3.8 | 1.6 |
| 9 | Prescribe antibiotic based on recommendation of pharmaceutical companies | 1.4 | 4.8 | 29.5 | 37.7 | 26.6 |
| 10 | Prescribe antibiotics inappropriately because patient cannot afford the appropriate antibiotic | 0.4 | 3.4 | 34.0 | 29.0 | 33.2 |
| 11 | Prescribe antibiotics inappropriately because the appropriate antibiotic is not available | 0.6 | 3.4 | 38.1 | 30.2 | 27.8 |
| 12 | De-escalate from broad spectrum to narrow spectrum antibiotics as soon as culture results are available | 24.0 | 37.1 | 22.3 | 9.9 | 6.7 |
| 13 | Prescribe prophylaxis antibiotics for more than 24hours | 6.4 | 19.2 | 41.9 | 23.3 | 9.1 |
URTI upper respiratory tract infection