• Valentina Arboleda Forero, Jhanelis Patricia Cruzate Hernández, Maricela Yepes Restrepo, and Luis Felipe Higuita-Gutiérrez.
• School of Microbiology, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
• Patient Prefer Adher. 2023 Jan 1; 17: 305730663057-3066.

ObjectiveTo describe the frequency of self-medication with antibiotics and its associated factors in Medellín, Colombia.MethodsA descriptive study was conducted on 778 individuals surveyed regarding sociodemographic characteristics, self-medication with antibiotics, reasons for using these drugs, and types of antibiotics used. The analysis was performed in SPSS using absolute and relative frequencies with their corresponding confidence intervals, chi-square test, and logistic regression.ResultsThe frequency of self-medication with antibiotics was 46% (95% CI 42.5-49.5), with 47.4% (95% CI 42.2-52.5) of the population using antibiotics without medical prescription for flu-like symptoms related to COVID-19. Amoxicillin (33.7%), azithromycin (10.9%), and cephalexin (4.7%) were the most used antibiotics. The main factors associated with self-medication were age group, zone of residence, and lack of information on the appropriate use of these medications.ConclusionThe city exhibits a high frequency of self-medication with antibiotics, predominantly in conditions where they are ineffective, such as flu-like symptoms related to COVID-19. These findings highlight the contribution of the COVID-19 pandemic to bacterial resistance through self-medication and underscore the need to implement targeted actions to control the use of these medications.© 2023 Arboleda Forero et al.

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