Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013;8(2):e55495.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055495. Epub 2013 Feb 18.

Antibiotic prescribing in DR Congo: a knowledge, attitude and practice survey among medical doctors and students

Kamala Thriemer  1 , Yves Katuala, Bibi Batoko, Jean-Pierre Alworonga, Hugo Devlieger, Christel Van Geet, Dauly Ngbonda, Jan Jacobs
Affiliations

Antibiotic prescribing in DR Congo: a knowledge, attitude and practice survey among medical doctors and students

Kamala Thriemer et al. PLoS One. 2013.

Abstract

Objectives: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) particularly hits resource poor countries, and is fuelled by irrational antibiotic (AB) prescribing. We surveyed knowledge, attitudes and practices of AB prescribing among medical students and doctors in Kisangani, DR Congo.

Methods: Self-administered questionnaires.

Results: A total of 184 questionnaires were completed (response rate 94.4%). Knowledge about AB was low (mean score 4.9/8 points), as was the estimation of local resistance rates of S. Typhi and Klebsiella spp.(correct by 42.5% and 6.9% of respondents respectively). ABR was recognized as a problem though less in their own practice (67.4%) than nation- or worldwide (92.9% and 85.5%, p<.0001). Confidence in AB prescribing was high (88.6%) and students consulted more frequently colleagues than medical doctors when prescribing (25.4% versus 11.6%, p= 0.19). Sources of AB prescribing included pharmaceutical companies (73.9%), antibiotic guidelines (66.3%), university courses (63.6%), internet-sites (45.7%) and WHO guidelines (26.6%). Only 30.4% and 16.3% respondents perceived AB procured through the central procurement and local pharmacies as of good quality. Local AB guidelines and courses about AB prescribing are welcomed (73.4% and 98.8% respectively).

Conclusions: This data shows the need for interventions that support rational AB prescribing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Map of the study site.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. WHO (2012) The evolving threat of antimicrobial resistance: options for action.
    1. Okeke I (2010) Poverty and root causes of resistance in developing countries. In: Sosa A, Byarugaba D, Amabile-Cuevas C, Hsueh P, Kariuki S et al..., editors. Antimicrobial resistance in developing countries. First ed. New York: Springer. 27–36.
    1. Alpuche C, Mazzotti L (2010) Teaching appropriate antibiotic use in developing countries. In: Sosa A, Byarugaba D, Amabile-Cuevas C, Hsueh P, Kariuki S et al..., editors. Antimicrobial resistance in developing countries. First ed. New York: Springer. 491–504.
    1. Pulcini C, Williams F, Molinari N, Davey P, Nathwani D (2011) Junior doctors’ knowledge and perceptions of antibiotic resistance and prescribing: a survey in France and Scotland. Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 17: 80–87. - PubMed
    1. Giblin TB, Sinkowitz-Cochran RL, Harris PL, Jacobs S, Liberatore K, et al. (2004) Clinicians’ perceptions of the problem of antimicrobial resistance in health care facilities. Archives of internal medicine 164: 1662–1668. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

Grants and funding

This study was sponsored by the Flemish Interuniversity Council Project ZRDC2009EIN6. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.