Assessing knowledge of antimicrobial therapy in graduating students
Plyasheshnikov M.A., Titova Z.A.
Background: The majority of antimicrobial drugs (AMDs) are prescribed by primary care physicians for respiratory and urinary tract infections. Medical graduates should have a good understanding of the general rules for administering antimicrobial drugs (AMDs), as well as current clinical guidelines for the rational selection of antibiotics for these infections.
Objective: Determination of the level of knowledge of sixth-year students at the Institute of Clinical Medicine (ICM) of Altai State Medical University (ASMU) on key issues related to the rational use of AMDs.
Materials and methods: An anonymous survey of 399 sixth-year students at the ICM of ASMU, completed in the 2024–2025 academic year, was analyzed.
Results: The results are presented as the average percentage of responses (APR). The students showed the best results when answering the following questions: time to evaluate the effectiveness of the initial antimicrobial therapy (APR=78%), the need to replace antimicrobial therapy with a positive clinical effect (APR=68%), and treatment tactics for acute tonsillitis/pharyngitis (APR=55%). The students showed the worst results when answering the following questions: adjuvant drugs (AD) for bacterial respiratory tract infections (APR=10%), criteria for discontinuing antimicrobial therapy (APR=15%), combining antimicrobial therapy (APR=22%), choosing first-line antimicrobial therapy for non-severe community-acquired pneumonia (APR=19%), acute cystitis (APR=21%), acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis (APR=13%), and choosing a rational ampicillin regimen (APR=28%).
Conclusion: Based on the survey results, it can be concluded that students lack knowledge of key issues in antimicrobial therapy (an average of 52% correct answers overall).
For citations: Plyasheshnikov M.A., Titova Z.A. Assessing knowledge of antimicrobial therapy in graduating students. Pharmateca. 2026;33(1):206-214. (In Russ.). DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/pharmateca.2026.1.206-214
Authors’ contribution: Z.A. Titova – data collection, entering information into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. M.A. Plyasheshnikov – data collection, analysis, and statistical analysis, systematization of scientific literature, writing the article, final approval of the manuscript.
Conflicts of interest: The authors confirm that they have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Funding: The study was conducted without any sponsorship.
Consent for Publication: All students gave voluntary consent to be surveyed.
Authors’ Data Sharing Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author after approval from the principal investigator.
Keywords
students
survey
antimicrobial drugs
About the Authors
Mark A. Plyasheshnikov, Cand. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor, Acting Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Altai State Medical University, Barnaul, Russia; plya.mark@yandex.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5464-4687 (corresponding author)Zoya A. Titova, Cand. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Altai State Medical University, Barnaul, Russia;
zoy.t22@yandex.ru, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4218-8182
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