Profile of drugs used for prescription or not (selfmedication) by medical students Volume 2 - Issue 5

Kakou A*, kouassi JM, Daubret PT, Balayssac E, Gboignon VM, Yavo JC, Kamagaté M and Die-Kacou H

• Clinical Pharmacology Department Cocody University Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa), France

Received:September 14, 2021;   Published:October 08, 2021

Corresponding author: Augustine Kakou, Department of Clinical Pharmacology University of Félix Houphouet-Boigny, Abidjan 04 BP 51 Abidjan 04 Ivory Coast Côte d’Ivoire, France

DOI: 10.32474/LOJPCR.2021.02.000150

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Abstract

Introduction: Medical students trained in good practices and use of medicines [1] face the same accessibility problems as the general population, hence self-medication [2]. They can hardly see a doctor, and prescribed prescriptions are expensive for their meagre budget. Our aim was to study the profile of the drugs used by medical students as prescription and/or self-medication in order to identify the reasons, risks and adverse effects of their practices.

Materials and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study took place from May 12 to June 14, 2019, involving medical students from the Preparatory School of Health Sciences (EPSS) and the UFR Medical Sciences in Abidjan (UFRSM).

Results: the average age of the students was 21.28 ± 4.7 years. The 20 to 24 age group represented 57.7% of the survey. 94.4% of the students were Ivorian, with 66.2% male (i.e., a sex ratio of 1.9). 38.5% of them were in License 2 and 19.2% in Master 1. The students lived for 38.5% of them with their parents, 34.2% alone and 27.4% in university residences.

On pathological point: The main reasons for prescribing were headaches, asthenia and fever respectively 46.6%, 27.8% and 27.8%. Common diagnoses were malaria (37.6%), influenza (17.1%) and typhoid fever (11.1%).

On prescribed point: prescribed drugs was used by the students in 29.5% of the cases while more than 70.5% self-medicated. The prescription was readable in 71.0%. The prescribed treatment was mostly on an outpatient basis (79.7%). The prescriber was a physician in 56.5% or a doctoral student in 26.1%.Only 65.5% of the students who practiced self-medication had knowledge of side effects. 97.4% of the students did not perform confirmatory paraclinical examinations before any treatment. The average cost of treatment with prescribed drugs was 10.323 fCFA and could reach 61.000 fCFA, while that of self-medication was 2.962 fCFA and did not exceed 25.000 fCFA.

Conclusion: Medical students use few prescription drugs, and self-medicate more because of treatment costs, a persistent source of the perennial problem of access to care.

Keywords: Prescription; Drugs; Self-Medication; Medical Students

Abstract| Introduction| Materials and Methods| Results and Comments| Conclusion| References|