RESUMEN. La auto-medicacion con antibioticos (ATBs) es un problema sanitario de importancia mayor a nivel mundial. La continua aparicion de cepas bacterianas resistentes a los ATBs conocidos da cuenta de las consecuencias del uso injustificado de estos agentes terapeuticos, ya sea debido a una prescripcion medica erronea, uso inadecuado por auto-medicacion o falta de cumplimiento del tratamiento prescrito. A fin de estudiar las conductas de consumo y auto-medicacion con ATBs en la Ciudad de La Plata se llevo a cabo una encuesta a 482 habitantes de dicha ciudad. Los resultados indican que aunque la auto-medicacion con ATBs es percibida como una conducta riesgosa por la poblacion encuestada, el 53 % de la misma consume, al menos ocasionalmente, ATBs sin prescripcion medica, debido principalmente a falta de tiempo y a la percepcion de que no siempre es necesaria una consulta al medico para diagnosticar la enfermedad y elegir el tratamiento adecuado. Se comparan los resultados con los de otros estudios anteriores llevados a cabo en Latinoamerica y en el resto del mundo. SUMMARY. “A Study Regarding Consumption and Self-medication with Antibiotics in the City of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina)”. Self-medication with antibiotics (ATBs) is a major, global sanitary problem. The continuous appearance of bacterial strains resistant to known ATBs denotes the consequences of the unjustified use of these therapeutic agents, whether the unjustified use is due to a wrong physician prescription, self-medication or lack of adherence to the prescript treatment. In order to study the conduits of consumption of and self medication with ATBs in the City of La Plata, we have carried out a survey to 482 inhabitants of this city. Results indicate that, although self-prescription with ATBs is perceived mostly as a risky conduit in the surveyed population, 53% of it consumes, at least occasionally, ATBs without medical prescription, mainly due to lack of time and the perception that a visit to the physician is not always necessary to diagnose the disease and choose the adequate treatment. Results are compared to those of previous studies performed in Latin America and the rest of the world.

A Study Regarding Consumption and Self-medication with Antibiotics in the City of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Self-medication with antibiotics (ATBs) is a major, global sanitary problem. The continuous appearance of bacterial strains resistant to known ATBs denotes the consequences of the unjustified use of these therapeutic agents, whether the unjustified use is due to a wrong physician prescription, self-medication or lack of adherence to the prescript treatment. In order to study the conduits of consumption of and self medication with ATBs in the City of La Plata, we have carried out a survey to 482 inhabitants of this city. Results indicate that, although self-prescription with ATBs is perceived mostly as a risky conduit in the surveyed population, 53% of it consumes, at least occasionally, ATBs without medical prescription, mainly due to lack of time and the perception that a visit to the physician is not always necessary to diagnose the disease and choose the adequate treatment. Results are compared to those of previous studies performed in Latin America and the rest of the world.