Antibiotic resistance is a global problem, however, and has been described with numerous pathogens and in varying contexts. Compared with vendors that require a medical interview, vendors who sell antibiotics without a prescription were more likely to sell quantities in excess of a single course, and the antibiotics were more likely to take more than 7 days to reach the customer.ĬONCLUSIONS Antibiotics are freely available for purchase on the Internet without a prescription, a phenomenon that encourages self-medication and low quality of care.Īntibiotics serve a useful therapeutic purpose in treating and controlling the impact of pathogens. Among those selling macrolides (n = 133), 93.3% would sell azithromycin in quantities consistent with more than a single course of medication. The mean delivery time was 8 days, with 46.1% expecting delivery in more than 7 days. Nearly all, 98.6%, ship to the United States.
Penicillins were available on 94.2% of the sites, macrolides on 96.4%, fluoroquinolones on 61.6%, and cephalosporins on 56.5%. Of those vendors, 36.2% sold antibiotics without a prescription, and 63.8% provided an online prescription. RESULTS We found 138 unique vendors selling antibiotics without a prescription. METHODS We conducted an Internet search using 2 major search engines (Google and Yahoo) with the key words “purchase antibiotics without a prescription” and “online (English only).” Vendors were compared according to the classes of antibiotics available, quantity, shipping locations, and shipping time. The purpose of this study was to examine antibiotics available to patients without a prescription, a phenomenon on the Internet. Most initiatives, however, focus almost exclusively on controlling prescribing by health care clinicians and do not focus on patient self-medication. PURPOSE Reducing inappropriate use of antibiotics is key to many antibiotic resistance initiatives.
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