Survey of ototopical self medication among patients attending ENT and family medicine departments in a Nigerian hospital

Abstract

Background: Ototopical self-medication is a common practice in Nigeria. Objective: The aim of the study was to establish the proportion of patients with otological problems that practice ototopical self-medication. Methods: A 12-week cross-sectional study of all the new patients attending the general outpatient (also called family medicine (FM)) and ear, nose and throat (ENT) departments of a Nigerian specialist hospital was carried out. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on bio data, practice of ototopical self medication among new patients with otological problems, the drugs used and the reasons for engaging in the practice. The results were analysed using SPSS version 11 and presented in Tables. Results: Out of 3276 patients that visited the hospital during the study period, 402 had otological problems. Of these, 125 (31%) used ototopical self-medication, giving a hospital incidence of 3.8%. 115 (92%) patients consented to fill in the questionnaire on the self-use of ototopical agents. Otalgia was the most common indication (27%) for ototopical self-medication. Gentamycin and Chloramphenicol topical agents were the most commonly used by the study participants. A total of 39 participants (34%) reported to have used non-prescribed self-medication because it was time saving. In 69 of the participants (60%), the drugs were self recommended while chemists and nurses recommended their use in 23 (20%) and 22 (19%) participants, respectively.

Conclusion: In Nigeria, there is a need for public enlightenment and health education about the possible drawbacks of this practice.

Key words::

• Ototopical ear drops
• self-medication
• otological complications
• otolaryngologist

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to Dr Mohammed K, Dr Attah K, Dr Ibrahim E and other staffs of the Family Medicine and ENT Department of the Kogi State Specialist Hospital who also assisted in the data collection and interpretation. The authors are also grateful to Dr TO Odi for his constructive criticism.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of the paper.

Supplementary material available online, at http://www.informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13814788.2011.565323.

Appendix A