Public knowledge and practice of sore throat management among visitors of primary care clinic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Sore throat is a common symptom of in?lammation of the pharynx and tonsils, and it’s a common health burden worldwide. The etiology in 85% of the time is a viral infection, which is a self-limiting disease. The other 15% of sore throat causes could be bacterial, fungal, smoking, intubation and yelling. Several studies were conducted regarding the management of pharyngitis and acute respiratory infections, which showed a high rate of antibiotic usage in an injudicious manner. This is a cross-sectional study, which took place in the primary care clinic in King Khalid University Hospital. A convenience sample was selected from the primary care clinic where data were collected via self-administered questionnaires. The research investigators designed the questionnaires and they were handed in 2014 in the time period between January 19 and January 27 where 320 questionnaires were handed. Data were collected from subjects who ?it the inclusion criteria, which included adult outpatients (18 or above) who experienced sore throat in the past year. Details on the data that were collected include: demographic variables, clinical presentation, risk factors and mode of management. Data were analyzed using SPSS. The data collection procedure yielded 276 respondents; 44 participants were excluded for not being eligible or not fully ?illing the questionnaire. 52.2% of whom were females and 47.8% were males and only 6.9% of the total respondents chose the appropriate management which is analgesics. The age of respondents held no signi?icance to the choice of management but gender exhibited signi?icance as the majority of participants who chose the inappropriate management were males constituting 16.4% of the total. In addition, educational level as a demographic factor held signi?icance as well in which respondents carrying bachelor’s degrees formed a percentage of 14.3% of people who chose antibiotics while respondents carrying a high school degree chose analgesics establishing 2.9%. The participants were asked if they follow any guidelines when managing their sore throat and 79.4% denied following guidelines. Also, we recommend similar research to be done on a bigger scale, with a bigger sample size and in different regions to know more about knowledge, attitude and practice of a bigger portion of the society. Moreover, further research is recommended regarding physicians and pharmacists prescribing antibiotics in an inappropriate fashion as well as supplying them with clear guidelines about the appropriate management of patients complaining of sore throat.