KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF COMMON COLD AND ITS MANAGEMENT AMONG DOCTORS OF PAKISTAN

Authors

  • Muneeb ur Rehman Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Naseer Alam Tariq Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Mamoon Ahmed Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Maryam Ahmad Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Areej Zahid Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Quratulain Chaudhry Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Bisma Tahir Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Zoraiz Ul Islam Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
  • Zahoor Mohi Ud Din Army Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad

Abstract

Background: Antibiotic misuse for upper respiratory tract infections such as the common cold is widespread in clinical practice. Excessive prescription of antibiotics by doctors has resulted in increased antimicrobial resistance. This led to our objective of determining the percentage of doctors in Pakistan prescribing antibiotics for the treatment of common cold and to know about their knowledge in preventing the spread of this disease. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in 9 cities of Pakistan including Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan and D.G. Khan over a period of 03 months –from October to December, 2013. Questionnaire regarding the disease spread and its treatment was distributed among 300 randomly selected doctors in nine cities of Pakistan from both public and private sector. Results: Eighteen percent of the doctors prescribe antibiotics for common cold. Only 113 (37.7%) doctors correctly responded that mean incubation period for common cold was 1–2 days. Two hundred and nine (69.7%) answered correctly that cold weather increases susceptibility to common cold. Only 84 (28%) responded correctly by choosing that regular and frequent hand-washing with good quality soaps was the most effective way to prevent spread of this disease in day-to-day life. Conclusion: Antibiotics are being prescribed for treatment of common cold by a large proportion of doctors. There is insufficient knowledge among our doctors regarding the factors which aggravate or alleviate common cold symptoms as well as the methods by which these infections can be prevented.Keywords: Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Resistance, Common Cold, Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs), Viruses

References

Jackson GG, Dowling HF, Spiesman IG, Boand AV. Transmission of the common cold to volunteers under controlled conditions. 1 The common cold as a clinical entity. Arch Intern Med 1958;101(2):267–78.

Arroll B. Common cold. BMJ Clin Evid 2008;pii:1510.

Lauber B. The common cold. J Gen Intern Med 1996;11(4):229–36.

Jackson GG, Dowling HF, Spiesman IG, Bond AV. Transmission of the Common Cold to Volunteers under Controlled Conditions. I. The Common cold as a clinical entity. AMA Arch Int Med 1958;101(2):267–78.

Jackson GG, Dowling HF, Muldoon RL. Acute respiratory diseases of viral etiology. VII. Present concepts of the common cold. Am J Public Health Nations Health 1962;52(6):940–5.

Heikkinen T, Jarvinen A. The common cold. Lancet 2003;361(9351):51–9.

Mäkelä MJ, Puhakka T, Ruuskanen O, Leinonen M, Saikku P, Kimpimäki M, et al. Viruses and bacteria in the etiology of the common cold. J Clin Microbiol 1998;36(2):539–42.

Zambon MC, Stockton JD, Clewley JP, Fleming DM. Contribution of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus to community cases of influenza-like illness: an observational study. Lancet 2001;358(9291):1410–16.

Tyrrell DA, Cohen S, Schlarb JE. Signs and symptoms in common colds. Epidemiol Infect 1993;111(1):143–56.

Levinson, Jawetz E. Medical microbiology and immunology: examination and board review. Stamford: Appleton & Lange, 1996.

Greenwood D, Slack RC, Barer MR, Irving WL. Medical Microbiology: A Guide to Microbial Infections: Pathogenesis, Immunity, Laboratory Diagnosis and Control. With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2012.

Curry M, Sung L, Arroll B, Goodyear-Smith F, Kerse N, Norris P. Public views and use of antibiotics for the common cold before and after an education campaign in New Zealand. NZ Med J 2006;119(1233):U1957.

Bertino JS. Cost burden of viral respiratory infections: issues for formulary decision makers. Am J Med 2002;112(Suppl 6A):42S–9S.

Braun BL, Fowles JB, Solberg L, Kind E, Healey M, Anderson R. Patient beliefs about the characteristics, causes, and care of the common cold. J Fam Pract 2000;49(2):153–6.

Lorber B. The common cold. J Gen Intern Med 1996;11(4):229–36.

Monto AS, Bryan ER, Ohmit S. Rhinovirus infections in Tecumseh, Michigan: frequency of illness and number of serotypes. J Infect Dis 1987;156(1):43–9.

Gwaltney JM, Jr. The common cold. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and practice of infectious diseases. 4th ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone; 1995;561–6.

Bonn D. Consumers need to change attitude to antibiotic use. Lancet Infect Dis 2003;3(11):678.

Puhakka T, Pitkaranta A, Ruuskanen O. Common cold and its complications. Duodecim 2000;116(1):39–45.

Johnston S, Holgate S. Epidemiology of viral respiratory infections. In: Myint S, Taylor-Robinson D, eds. Viral and other infections of the human respiratory tract. London: Chapman & Hall, 1996:1–38.

Cohen S, Alper CM, Doyle WJ, Adler N, Treanor JJ, Turner RB. Objective and subjective socioeconomic status and susceptibility to the common cold. Health Psychol 2008;27(2):268–74.

Cohen S, Tyrrell DA, Smith AP. Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold. N Engl J Med 1991;325(9):606–12.

Eccles R. An explanation for the seasonality of acute upper respiratory tract viral infections. Acta Otolaryngol 2002;122(2):183–91.

Berzanskyte A, Valinteliene R, Haaijer-Ruskamp FM, Gurevicius R, Grigoryan L. Self-medication with antibiotics in Lithuania. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2006;19(4):246–53.

Arroll B, Kenealy T. Are antibiotics effective for acute purulent rhinitis? Systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo controlled randomised trials. BMJ 2006;333(7562):279.

Gonzales R, Steiner JF, Sande MA. Antibiotic prescribing for adults with colds, upper respiratory tract infections, and bronchitis by ambulatory care physicians. JAMA 1997;278(11):901–4.

Ullah F, Malik S, Ahmed J. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern and ESBL prevalence in nosocomial Escherichia coli from urinary tract infections in Pakistan. Afr J Biotechnol. 2009;8(16).

Iqbal I, Pervez S, Baig S. Management of children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) by general practitioners in Multan-an observational study. J Pak Med Assoc 1997;47(1):24–8.

Robbins SL, Kumar V, Cotran RS, editors. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders/Elsevier; 2010. p.1450.

Pasarica M, Mashtalir N, McAllister EJ, Kilroy GE, Koska J, Permana P, et al. Adipogenic Human Adenovirus Ad‐36 Induces Commitment, Differentiation, and Lipid Accumulation in Human Adipose‐Derived Stem Cells. Stem Cells 2008;26(4):969–78.

Singh, M. Heated, humidified air for the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006;19(3):CD001728.

Saroea HG. Common colds. Causes, potential cures, and treatment. Can Fam Physician 1993;39:2215–6.

Gwaltney JM Jr, Moskalski PB, Hendley JO. Interruption of experimental rhinovirus transmission. J Infect Dis 1980;142(6):811–5.

Su N, Lin JT, Liu GJ, Lin YP, Yin KS, Bai CX, et al. [A survey of knowledge on common cold and its treatment situation among physicians from various levels of hospitals in mainland China]. Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi 20152;51(5):266–9.

Published

2016-08-28

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 3 (2016): JOURNAL OF AYUB MEDICAL COLLEGE, ABBOTTABAD

Section

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

License

Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License  CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.

USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.