Introduction The benefits of antibiotics are under threat by self-medication, which culminated in economic burdening of developing countries, treatment failures, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and an increased probability of exposure and infection of the general population by antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of medical students in Sudan towards the use of antibiotics, the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among medical students in Sudan and to identify risk factors which promote self-medication with antibiotics. Materials and methods This was a cross-sectional, descriptive and institution-based study, between November 2020 and May 2021. 1,110 medical students were selected by multistage cluster sampling. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors of self-medication with antibiotics among the study participants. Results The median knowledge score was 7 out of a maximum of 10 (IQR: 5–8). A moderately positive attitude was observed among the participants (Median: 7/10; IQR: 6–8). Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly associated with academic year and monthly allowance (p < 0.05). 675 (60.8%) self-medicated with antibiotics within the previous 12 months, mostly from community pharmacies (321/675; 47.5%). Antibiotics were most commonly used to treat respiratory tract infections (38.1%) and cough (30.4%). Chi-square analysis demonstrated that self-medication with antibiotics was significantly associated with gender, year of study and monthly income. Conclusions Undergraduate medical students had moderate knowledge and attitude towards antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, and an alarmingly high prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics. This highlights the urgent need for tighter legislation regarding the sales of antibiotics in community pharmacies by the state and federal health ministries.

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging infection causing a widely spread pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The current COVID-2019 pandemic is prompting fear of falling sick, dying, helplessness and stigma so urgent and timely understanding of mental health status is needed to help the community. The aim of our study is to assess the psychological impact of COVID19 pandemic on medical students in Sudan. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional descriptive research was done among medical student in Sudan during COVID 19 pandemic in August 2020. DASS-21 scales were used to determine the level of depression, anxiety and stress among medical students through an online questionnaire, their responses were taken relatable to 21 items of DASS scale. The data was analyzed by means of SPPS version 25.0. Results: The mean (SD) age of our study participants was 21.8 (2.4) with female to male ratio of 2.1. Most of the participants were residing during the time the of the study in middle stats of Sudan (50.8%) and 83% were staying with their families. Interestingly, more than 40.5% of the study participants were free of depression while more than 13% had extremely severe depression. On the other hand, only 4.4% had extremely severe stress. However, anxiety ranked the higher numbers with 23% had extremely severe anxiety. Adjusted linear regression model revealed that lower levels in the medical school and open colleges during the lock down period were associated with more anxiety (p value 0.01,0.006 respectively), while having a family member working in the medical field is associated with less stress (p value 0.02). Conclusion : Our study provides good idea about the magnitude of the psychological burden upon medical students during the COVID- 19 pandemic and showed many factors that can influence mental health so as to emphasize the need to adopt new strategies to improve psychological services. In addition, it's important to support high-risk groups especially those with preexisting mental illness to offer advanced psychological interventions. So our study can be used to construct and formulate a psychological intervention and implement mental health strategies directed toward vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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Introduction: The benefits of antibiotics are under threat by self-medication, which culminated in economic burdening of developing countries, treatment failures, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and an increased probability of exposure and infection of the general population by antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of medical students in Sudan towards the use of antibiotics, the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among medical students in Sudan and to identify risk factors which promote self-medication with antibiotics.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive and institution-based study, between November 2020 and January 2021. 1,110 medical students were selected by multistage cluster sampling. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors of self-medication with antibiotics among the study participants.Results: The median knowledge score was 7 out of a maximum of 10 (IQR: 5-8). A moderately positive attitude was observed among the participants (Median: 7/10; IQR: 6-8). 675 (60.8%) self-medicated with antibiotics within the previous 12 months, mostly from community pharmacies (321/675; 47.5%). Antibiotics were most commonly used to treat respiratory tract infections (38.1%) and cough (30.4%). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that self-medication with antibiotics was significantly associated with gender, year of study and monthly income.Conclusions: Undergraduate medical students had moderate knowledge and attitude towards antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, and an alarmingly high prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics. This highlights the urgent need for tighter legislation regarding the sales of antibiotics in community pharmacies by the state and federal health ministries.