Cited by 272Antibiotic Use and ResistanceAntibiotic Resistance in BacteriaPharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts

Self-medication with Antibiotics in WHO Southeast Asian Region: A Systematic Review

Open access
Nepal, Gaurav, Bhatta, Shekhar·2018·Cureus

Abstract

Antibiotics are essential treatments, especially in the developing world like World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asian region where infectious diseases are still the most common cause of death. In this part of the world, antibiotics are purchased and used without the prescription of a physician. Self-medication of antibiotics is associated with the risk of inappropriate drug use, which predisposes patients to drug interactions, masking symptoms of an underlying disease, and development of microbial resistance. Antibiotic resistance is shrinking the range of effective antibiotics and is a global health problem. The appearance of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains, which are highly resistant to many antibiotic classes, has raised a major concern regarding antibiotic resistance worldwide. Even after decades of economic growth and development in countries that belong to the WHO Southeast Asian region, most of the countries in this region still have a high burden of infectious diseases. The magnitude and consequence of self-medication with antibiotics is unknown in this region. There is a need for evidence from well-designed studies on community use of antibiotics in these settings to help in planning and implementing specific strategies and interventions to prevent their irrational use and consequently to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. To quantify the frequency and effect of self-medication with antibiotics, we did a systematic review of published work from the Southeast Asian region.

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Crossref · 10.7759/cureus.2428

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36 of 36 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Among the different channels from which patients in LMICs can access antibiotics, community drug retail outlets are a predominant source of antibiotics for the wider population.

    “Among the different channels from which patients in LMICs can access antibiotics, CDROs have been identified to be a predominant source of antibiotics for the wider population [19–22].”

    From No prescription? No problem: drivers of non-prescribed sale of antibiotics among community drug retail outlets in low and middle income countries: a systematic review of qualitative studies (2021) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Review (page not provided) says pharmacies were the main source of antibiotics used for self-medication, followed by friends and family. That supports retail outlets as a predominant source in the studies reviewed, but the paper concerns self-medication in the WHO Southeast Asian Region, not all antibiotic access among the wider population across LMICs. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Gaurav Nepal et al. reported that 79.6% of pharmacies in Nepal dispensed antibiotics for URI without a prescription.

    “This finding aligns with research by Gaurav Nepal et al, which reported that 79.6% of pharmacies in Nepal dispensed antibiotics for URI without a prescription. 17”

    From Evaluation of antibiotic dispensing without prescription by community pharmacies: a simulated patient study (2025) · cites this paper as [17]

    The Review discusses antibiotic self-medication in Nepal and lists pharmacies as a source of antibiotics in some studies, but it does not report the claimed pharmacy-level finding. Searches for “79.6%” and for dispensing without a prescription for URI found no matching passage in our copy; the precise claim cannot be verified from it. (LLM, conf=0.77)

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2 of the 38 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [28]Self-medication with antibiotics among dental students of Kathmandu - prevalence and practice Nepal Med Coll J Pant N Sagtani RA Pradhan M 47 53 17 2015 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304571326_Self-medication_with_antibiotics_among_dental_students_of_Kathmandu_-_Prevalence_and_Practice
  2. [43]Assessment of self-medication practices among medical, pharmacy and nursing students at a tertiary care teaching hospital Indian J Hosp Pharm Gaddam D 79 83 49 2012 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Damodar_Gaddam/publication/230779793_Assessment_of_Self-medication_Practices_among_Medical_Pharmacy_and_Nursing_Students_at_a_Tertiary_Care_Teaching_Hospital/links/09e415045784f24421000000/Assessment-of-Self-medication-Practices-among-Medical-Pharmacy-and-Nursing-Students-at-a-Tertiary-Care-Teaching-Hospital.pdf

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Authors
Nepal, G., & Bhatta, S.
Affiliations
Tribhuvan University (NP)
Corresponding author
Nepal, Gaurav
Venue
Cureus
Published
2018-04-05
Volume
10
Issue
4
Pages
e2428-e2428
ISSN
2168-8184 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2796257797
Cited by
272
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 1
FWCI
3.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Cureus (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
Keywords
self-medication, antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, multidrug resistance, inappropriate medication use, community antibiotic use, Southeast Asia, infectious diseases, antimicrobial stewardship

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