Opinions of Physicians on Prescribing Antibiotics for Acute Diarrhea in Government Hospitals in Tak Province

Abstract

Background: Percentage of antibiotic use in acute diarrhea in TAK Province did not pass the indicator criteria. A study of the opinions of physicians will be useful in reflecting information and developing prescribing guidelines.

Objective: To study the opinions of physicians on prescribing antibiotics for acute diarrhea in government hospitals in Tak Province.

Method: This is a survey research. Data were collected using a questionnaire sending to 54 physicians who were enrolled according to inclusion criteria: they prescribed antibiotics for acute diarrhea at 9 government hospitals in TAK Province during January - March, 2024.

Result: There were 51 respondents, most are general physicians with less than or equal to 5 years of work experience. Physicians most strongly agreed that policies promoting ASU (antibiotic smart use): National Health Security Office (NHSO), were beneficial to public mean±SD 4.69±0.47, but they realized that there were difficulties in achieving high levels of performance indicators mean±SD 3.71±0.90 and regional contexts, such as border areas or cholera-endemic areas, affected decisions to prescribe antibiotics mean±SD 4.41±0.64. Physicians were most in agreement that antibiotics would be prescribed for indications including invasive diarrhea, suspected shigellosis, and diarrhea in patients with complications. Regarding the percentage criteria for antibiotics use in acute diarrhea that can be practiced, most physicians (58.83%) answered no more than 30%, which is higher than the indicator of less than 20%, announced by the Ministry of Public Health.

Conclusion: Physicians have several considerations that affect the rational use of antibiotics in acute diarrhea, such as regional context, appropriate indications and criteria, etc. Therefore, clinical practice guidelines and criteria should be developed that are consistent with the patient context in the area.