Evaluation of the Regulation of Antibiotics Consumption in Bujumbura, Burundi

Background: Antibiotic self-medication is highly prevalent in the developing countries. The objective of the study was to evaluate self-medication with antibiotics and the regulation of antibiotics consumption in the private and public pharmacies of the urban area of Bujumbura. Methods: A cross sectional study using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in private and public pharmacies of Bujumbura. 460 clients were randomly chosen and 32 sellers randomly selected from January to September 2015 and interviewed. Results: Of the 460 participants, 186 (40.43%) practiced self-medication to antibiotics. The average age was 34.89 years. Abdominal pain was the first motivation to practice self-medication (20.8%). Amoxicillin was the antibiotic most commonly used (47.3%). Inaccessibility to health care facilities due to the lack of financial resources was cited to be the root of this phenomenon (62%) and these antibiotics were mostly acquired from community pharmacies without prescriptions (84.4%). Conclusions: The high cost of care and the low level of study of the patients are factors favoring this phenomenon. A national policy for regulation use of antibiotics without a medical prescription and an educational program to general population on the effective use of antibiotics are therefore needed.