Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Clin Pract. 2021 Apr;75(4):e13833. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.13833. Epub 2020 Dec 3.
Antimicrobials save millions of lives annually from dying because of bacterial infections, but the rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) becomes a global threat. The Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) has taken containment measures to limit the misuse of antimicrobials via implementing restrictions on dispensing without prescriptions. Hence, we aim to evaluate the impact of regulating antimicrobial sales and identify challenges that pharmacists are facing to prevent self-medication with antimicrobial agents.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using two sources of data: sales reports from 3000 pharmacies in Saudi Arabia and a self-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 24 items written in English and Arabic languages, went through multiple steps to ensure validity and reliability and then distributed online. Descriptive analyses were used to present the results.
A total of 106 pharmacists completed the questionnaire. Sixty-three per cent of the respondents observed a reduction of 40% in sales, which was consistent with pharmacies' sales reports, which revealed a 50% reduction in 2018 as compared to 2017. Seventy-six per cent of respondents agreed that antimicrobials' sales restrictions were frustrating to patients. The percentage of pharmacists who reported receiving prescriptions with complete information about patients, prescribers, medications and issue date was 70%, 54%, 86% and 77%, respectively. And 69% of respondents revealed receiving support from their employers to prevent dispensing antimicrobial agents without prescription.
Restriction measures implemented by the Saudi MOH led to a 40% to 50% reduction in inappropriate sales of antimicrobials. Further studies are needed to investigate the methods for improving documentation and prescribing practices.
抗生素每年挽救数以百万计因细菌感染而死亡的生命，但抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）的迅速出现成为全球威胁。沙特卫生部（MOH）已采取遏制措施，通过限制无处方配药来限制抗生素的滥用。因此，我们旨在评估规范抗菌药物销售的影响，并确定药剂师在防止自我用药方面面临的挑战。
采用两种数据源进行横断面研究：沙特阿拉伯 3000 家药店的销售报告和自行设计的问卷。问卷由 24 个项目组成，用英语和阿拉伯语书写，经过多个步骤确保有效性和可靠性，然后在线分发。采用描述性分析来呈现结果。
共有 106 名药剂师完成了问卷。63%的受访者观察到销售额下降了 40%，这与药店的销售报告一致，报告显示 2018 年销售额比 2017 年下降了 50%。76%的受访者同意，对抗生素销售的限制对患者来说是令人沮丧的。报告收到完整患者、处方医生、药物和开具日期信息的处方的药剂师比例分别为 70%、54%、86%和 77%。69%的受访者表示，他们得到了雇主的支持，以防止在没有处方的情况下配给抗菌药物。
沙特 MOH 实施的限制措施导致抗生素的不适当销售减少了 40%至 50%。需要进一步研究来调查改进文件记录和处方实践的方法。
