Hasan Sanah, Al Oum Lujain, Hassan Nageeb AbdulGalil
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
J Pharm Policy Pract. 2021 Jan 12;14(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s40545-020-00294-4.
Research has shown that there is an increase in the global prevalence of asthma. Pharmacists are well positioned to screen and refer patients for better management of asthma. This study aimed to evaluate community pharmacists' ability to assess the 3 C's (Control, Compliance, Complications) and offer Management and Advice for patients with asthma in the UAE.
Three fifth year pharmacy students role played a mystery shopper visiting community pharmacies and requesting symptom relief from uncontrolled asthma. Incidence of cough syrup and reliever inhaler supply, physician referral rate, correction of inhaler technique, and counseling on the medications, adherence to the medications and adverse drug reactions were calculated.
One hundred, ninety five pharmacies were visited, 27% of pharmacists asked about the need for cough syrup and 60% asked about the need for albuterol inhaler. Only 26% asked about other medications. Less than 20% assessed inhaler technique, only one pharmacist asked about regular use of preventer medications and if the patient was adhering to them and only 16% asked about side effects from medications. Most pharmacists (67%) supplied at least one of the medications, while 65% referred the patient to a physician. Only 21% gave information about correct inhaler technique, the majority (> 60%) being incomplete, only 16 pharmacists gave information about asthma and its triggers; the majority (63%) being incomplete. One third of the pharmacists counselled the patient on the medications with one giving complete information.
The study highlighted suboptimal assessment of control, compliance to preventer medications and complications of asthma and the medications that treat it. It also highlighted suboptimal Management and Advice giving and counseling on medication use by pharmacists. Training pharmacists in all aspects of asthma handling is clearly indicated. Despite the high rate of correct patient referral to a physician noted in this study, there is risk to it, as patients might not actually go to see their physician and continue to depend on symptom relief for the management of their asthma. This study highlighted the importance of improving patient education and information seeking attitude.
研究表明，全球哮喘患病率呈上升趋势。药剂师在筛查和转诊患者以更好地管理哮喘方面具有优势。本研究旨在评估阿联酋社区药剂师评估哮喘患者的“3C”（控制、依从性、并发症）并提供管理和建议的能力。
三名五年级药学专业学生扮演暗访顾客，走访社区药房，要求缓解未得到控制的哮喘症状。计算止咳糖浆和缓解剂吸入器的供应发生率、医生转诊率、吸入器技术纠正情况、药物咨询、药物依从性和药物不良反应情况。
共走访了195家药房，27%的药剂师询问了止咳糖浆的需求，60%的药剂师询问了沙丁胺醇吸入器的需求。只有26%的药剂师询问了其他药物。不到20%的药剂师评估了吸入器技术，只有一名药剂师询问了预防药物的常规使用情况以及患者是否坚持使用，只有16%的药剂师询问了药物的副作用。大多数药剂师（67%）提供了至少一种药物，而65%的药剂师将患者转诊给医生。只有21%的药剂师提供了正确吸入器技术的信息，大多数（>60%）不完整，只有16名药剂师提供了有关哮喘及其触发因素的信息；大多数（63%）不完整。三分之一的药剂师对患者进行了药物咨询，其中一人提供了完整信息。
该研究突出了对哮喘控制、预防药物依从性和并发症以及治疗药物评估不足的问题。还突出了药剂师在药物管理、建议和咨询方面存在不足的问题。显然需要对药剂师进行哮喘处理各方面的培训。尽管本研究中患者正确转诊给医生的比例较高，但仍存在风险，因为患者可能实际上不会去看医生，而是继续依赖症状缓解来管理哮喘。本研究突出了改善患者教育和信息寻求态度的重要性。
