Self-medication profile of ENT patients

AIM: To describe self-medication habits of patients with otorhinolaryngological disorders to characterize problematic aspects in order to manage and correct them. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A multiple-choice questionnaire was used to obtain the data, consisting of 17 questions about self-medication habits. It was distributed to the patients assisted in our ENT clinic, in July/2003. RESULTS: Approximately 83 percent of the admitted patients have practiced self-medication (without medical prescription). However, 73 percent of them stated that it wasnÆt mandatory to present a prescription in order to obtain the medicine. The most utilized drugs were: analgesics/antipyretics (90 percent), cold and flu drugs (78 percent), and NSAIDs (69 percent); antibiotics were the 8th (11 percent). Among the reasons or diseases patients believed to suffer from that justified the self-medication practice, we observed: headaches (76 percent), cold/flu (74 percent) and nonspecific febrile illnesses (56 percent); otitis, in general, was the last (12 percent). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the need for continuous educational programs about the risks of self-medication, besides appropriate governmental regulation and inspection.