Antibiotic knowledge and self-care for acute respiratory tract infections in Mexico

objective: to examine knowledge of and self-treatment with antibiotics among medically-insured adults in mexico. materials and methods: we conducted a cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey among 101 adult patients seeking care for acute respiratory tract infections in a family medicine clinic in mexico. knowledge scores were calculated as a composite of correct, incorrect and don't know responses. factors associated with antibiotic knowledge and antibiotic self-treatment were explored with bivariate analyses. results: 47% of participants were taking antibiotics prior to the visit, 20% were self-treating. antibiotic knowledge was highly variable. many participants believed common non-antibiotic treatments for colds and coughs were antibiotics, such as ambroxol (45%), desenfriol (45%) and paracetamol (44%). older participants (>40 years) had better knowledge scores. discussion: self-treatment with and misperceptions about antibiotics are common among medically insured adults seeking medical attention in mexico.