Illegal Antibiotic Dispensing by Online and Community Pharmacies in China: A National Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Background Asthma control and monitoring still represents a challenge worldwide. Although the international guidelines suggest the interplay between secondary and primary care services as an effective strategy to control the disease, community pharmacies’ are seldom involved in asthma control assessment. The present cross-sectional study aimed at providing a picture of the relationship between asthma severity and control in community pharmacies within the health district of the city of Verona (Veneto Region, North-Eastern Italy). Methods A call for participation was launched through the Pharmacists’ Association of Verona. Patients referring to the participating pharmacies with an anti-asthmatic drug medical prescription and an asthma exemption code were asked to complete the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and a brief questionnaire collecting information on their age, sex, smoking status, aerobic physical exercise and usual asthma therapy, which also defined asthma severity. A multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to investigate the risk of uncontrolled as well as poorly controlled vs. controlled asthma (base). Results were expressed as relative risk ratios (RRR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results Fifty-seven community pharmacies accepted to participate and 584 asthmatic patients (54% females; mean-age: 51 ± 19 years) were consecutively recruited from 1st January to 30th June 2018 (6 months). Based upon ACT score 50.5% patients had a controlled asthma, 22.3% a poorly controlled and 27.2% uncontrolled. A variable proportion of patients with uncontrolled asthma were observed for every level of severity, although more frequently with mild persistent form of asthma. Most patients (92%) self-reported regular compliance with therapy. At multinomial regression analysis, patients under regular asthma treatment course (RRR = 0.33; 95%CI: 0.15; 0.77) were less likely to have an ACT< 16 compared to those not taking medications regularly. Conclusions Overall, our findings highlighted an unsatisfactory asthma control in the general population, independently of the severity level of the disease. Community pharmacies could be a useful frontline interface between patients and the health care services, supporting an effective asthma management plan, from disease assessment and monitoring treatment compliance to referral of patients to specialist medical consultancies.

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Community Pharmacists’ Practice, Awareness, and Beliefs about Drug Disposal in Saudi Arabia

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9070823 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 823

Author(s):

Sultan Alghadeer ◽

Mohammed N. Al-Arifi

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Community Pharmacists ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Community Pharmacies ◽

Age Group ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Take Back ◽

Medication Disposal

The awareness among Saudi people regarding the good and safe practice of drug disposal is fairly low. Community pharmacists’ potential toward drugs disposal directions and practice are not emphasized enough. Therefore, a cross sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to evaluate the practice, awareness and beliefs of community pharmacists about disposal of unused drugs. Out of 360 subjects who participated in the study, more than 70% returned the unused drugs to the pharmaceutical distributors. Around 80% of the participants confirmed the risk of environmental damage due to the inappropriate disposal of drugs, and 87.5% of them held themselves responsible for preventing such risk. Approximately 85% of surveyed pharmacists believed community pharmacies to be an appropriate location for the collection of unused drugs. There was no significant association between the community pharmacists’ age group and years of practice as community pharmacists with either the awareness of unused medication disposal on environmental hazards, or the beliefs about the appropriate location for collecting unused drugs (p > 0.05). The awareness and proactive accountable responsibility, along with community pharmacists’ belief of appointing pharmacies to collect unused drugs, strongly support the institution of drug take-back programs.

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Women’s attitude toward gynecological pain in fertile age: Results from a cross-sectional study among Italian community pharmacies

Journal of Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Disorders ◽

10.1177/2284026518776148 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 88-94

Author(s):

Corrado Giua Marassi ◽

Assunta Pistone ◽

Fabio Parazzini ◽

Silvia Vannuccini ◽

Felice Petraglia

Keyword(s):

Medical Treatment ◽

Pelvic Pain ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Pharmacies ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mean Delay ◽

Italian Community

Introduction: Several epidemiological data on women afferent to clinics for medical treatment of pelvic pain are available, while few studies explored the general population. Thus, this study aimed to investigate women presenting with gynecological pain at the community pharmacy and to evaluate the relevance of pharmacist advice regarding medical treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 10 Italian community pharmacies, by administering a structured questionnaire to fertile age women reporting pelvic pain during the last 3 months. Questions were concerning demographic information, pain characteristics, women’s behavior toward gynecological pain, and diagnosis possibly received from a physician. Results: A group of 290 women were interviewed. Severe pain was reported in 58.3%, with a mean ± SD of 4.4 ± 6.8 days of suffering, causing absenteeism from work in 45.3% of cases. Almost half of women reported that the onset of gynecological pain was before 15 years and 72.2% had consulted a physician in the past, with a mean delay of 2.5 ± 4.3 years between the onset of pain and medical consultation. However, only 28% of the overall population received a diagnosis. 51.0% received one treatment, while 39% received two or more. The first therapy was prescribed in 40.2% cases by the physician, while in the remaining it was recommended either by the pharmacist or it was a self-medication. Conclusion: Gynecological pelvic pain is a disabling problem, regardless of the underlying cause, with significant impact on social and working life and requiring a better medical management.

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How Do Pharmacists Assist Medicare Beneficiaries with Limited Income? A Cross-Sectional Study of Community Pharmacies in Alabama

Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy ◽

10.18553/jmcp.2016.22.9.1039 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (9) ◽

pp. 1039-1045

Author(s):

Salisa C. Westrick ◽

Tessa J. Hastings ◽

Stuart J. McFarland ◽

Lindsey A. Hohmann ◽

Natalie S. Hohmann

Keyword(s):

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Pharmacies ◽

Medicare Beneficiaries ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Limited Income

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Practice of parents and pharmacists regarding antibiotics use in pediatrics: A 2017 cross‐sectional study in Lebanese community pharmacies

Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice ◽

10.1111/jep.13165 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 181-189 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Souheil Hallit ◽

Lama Zahreddine ◽

Nadine Saleh ◽

Shadia Shakaroun ◽

Nathalie Lahoud

Keyword(s):

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Pharmacies ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Antibiotics Use

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Prescribing practices using WHO prescribing indicators and factors associated with antibiotic prescribing in six community pharmacies in Asmara, Eritrea: a cross-sectional study

Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control ◽

10.1186/s13756-019-0620-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nebyu Daniel Amaha ◽

Dawit G. Weldemariam ◽

Nuru Abdu ◽

Eyasu H. Tesfamariam

Keyword(s):

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Essential Medicines ◽

Community Pharmacies ◽

Antibiotic Prescribing ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Prescribing Practices ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Prescribing Indicators ◽

Factors Affecting

Abstract Background Antibiotics require more prudent prescribing, dispensing and administration than other medicines because these medicines are at a greater risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Studying the current medicine use practices and factors affecting the prescribing of an antibiotic would help decision makers to draft policies that would enable a more rational use of medicines. Methods A prospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the current prescribing practices including antibiotics use in six community pharmacies in Asmara. A total of 600 encounters were reviewed using the WHO core prescribing indicators between May 5 and May 12, 2019 using stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were employed using IBM SPSS® (version 22). Results The average number of medicines per prescription was 1.76 and 83.14% of the medicines were prescribed using generic names while 98.39% of the medicines were from the National Essential Medicines List (NEML). The percentage of prescriptions containing antibiotics was 53%. The number of encounters containing injections was 7.8%. Patient age, gender and number of medicines prescribed were significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing at bivariate and multivariable models. Subjects under the age of 15 were approximately three times more likely to be prescribed antibiotic compared to subjects whose age is 65 and above (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 2.93, 95%CI: 1.71–5). Similarly, males were more likely to be prescribed antibiotic than females (AOR: 1.57, 95%CI: 1.10–2.24). Subjects to whom three to four medicines prescribed were two times more likely to be prescribed an antibiotic compared to those who were to be prescribed one to two medicines per encounter (AOR: 2.17, 95%CI: 1.35–3.5). A one-unit increase in the number of medicines increased the odds of antibiotic prescribing increased by 2.02 units (COR: 2.02; 95%CI: 1.62–2.52). Conclusions This study found that the percentage of antibiotics being prescribed at the community pharmacies in Asmara was 53% which deviated significantly from the WHO recommended values (20–26.8%). Furthermore, the percentage of encounters with an injection was 7.8% lower than the WHO value of 13.4–24.0%. Patients’ age, gender and number of medicines were significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing.

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Self-Medication Practices with Antibiotics and Antimalarials Among Sudanese Undergraduate University Students

Annals of Pharmacotherapy ◽

10.1345/aph.1k068 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 41 (7-8) ◽

pp. 1249-1255 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Abdelmoneim I Awad ◽

Idris B Eltayeb

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Private University ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Community Pharmacies ◽

Age Group ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Undergraduate University Students ◽

Study Population

Background: In many developing countries, up to 60–80% of health problems are self-medicated. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics and/or antimalarials and identify factors promoting such use among university students in Sudan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed, using a pretested questionnaire on a sample of 1300 students selected from 5 universities in Khartoum State, Sudan. Results: Eight hundred ninety-one (79.5%; 95% CI 77.0 to 81.8) students from the study population had used antibiotics or antimalarials without a prescription within 1–2 months prior to the study. Four hundred ninety (55%; 95% CI 51.7 to 58.3) of the respondents stated that they had used antibiotics, 39 (4.4%; 95% CI 3.2 to 6.0) had used antimalarials, and 362 (40.6%; 95% CI 37.4 to 43.9) had used both. Overall, self-medication with antibiotics or antimalarials was significantly more common among students 21 years of age or older compared with those 20 years of age or younger (OR 1.55; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.09; p = 0.004) and among students attending private universities compared with those attending public universities (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.95; p = 0.028). Self-medication with antibiotics followed a simitar pattern, which was significantly more common among students 21 years of age or older (OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.81; p = 0.03) and private university respondents (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.02; p = 0.003). Self-medication with antimalarials was found to be significantly less common among females (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.59 to 0.97; p = 0.028) and higher among the 21 years or older age group (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.42 to 2.40; p < 0.001), The most common reason indicated for self-medication was the respondents’ previous experiences with similar ailments. The main source of drugs was community pharmacies. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics/antimalarials among undergraduate university students in Khartoum State is high. Our findings highlight the need for planning interventions to promote the judicious use of antibiotics/antimicrobials.

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