Grigoryan L, et al. - Studies that reported nonprescription use of antibiotics, storage of antibiotics, intention to use antibiotics without a prescription, and factors influencing nonprescription use were evaluated by researchers in order to perform a scoping review on the prevalence of nonprescription antibiotic use in the United States, and to investigate the factors that impacted this prevalence. Of 17,422 screened articles, 31 were eligible and included for analysis. The prevalence of nonprescription antibiotic use and storage of antibiotics for future use differed from 1% to 66% and 14% to 48%, respectively, and the prevalence of intention to use antibiotics without a prescription was 25%, depending on population features. Including formerly prescribed courses, local markets or stores, and family or friends, antibiotics were collected with no prescription from different sources. Easy access through markets or stores that received antibiotics internationally for under-the-counter sales, difficulty accessing the health care system, costs of physician visits, long waiting periods in clinics, and transportation problems were the reported factors adding to nonprescription. Hence, in the United States, nonprescription antibiotic use was concluded as an apparently prevalent and understudied public health problem. Moreover, to reduce this unsafe practice, an increased understanding of risk factors and pathways that are responsive to the intervention is warranted, according to the investigators.