Altayeb Lina, Zkriea Alaa, El Imam Eman, GreebAlla Khansa, Hassan Rimah, Ahmed Ruba, Wazaify Mayyada
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Omdurman Islamic University, Omdurman, Sudan.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Omdurman Islamic University, Omdurman, Sudan.
Int J Pharm Pract. 2025 Feb 7;33(1):52-57. doi: 10.1093/ijpp/riae071.
Pregabalin abuse is increasing in prevalence and is associated with significant harm. This study aimed to assess community pharmacists' perceptions of pregabalin abuse and their recommendations to address this issue.
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Omdurman locality, Khartoum in 2022. Community pharmacies were selected randomly and surveyed using a pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire held on a smartphone. Chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26.
A total of 172 community pharmacists completed the questionnaire (77.8% aged 22-30 years, 65.1% females, 79.1% holding bachelor's degrees, and 57.6% having ≤ 5 years of work experience). Most participants (81.4%) perceived that they had observed pregabalin abuse in the last 6 months. Participants indicated that they were aware of the abuse potential of pregabalin (97.7%) and that they routinely dispensed pregabalin only by prescription (92.4%). Most participants reported that people they suspected of abusing pregabalin were mainly men (98.8%), aged 21-30 years (90.7%), and did not regularly visit the pharmacy (72.7%). Actions taken for such customers included stating the product was not available (64.0%) and refusing to dispense (56.4%). The most recommended solutions were raising community awareness about the risks and consequences of pregabalin abuse (35.8%) and maximizing pharmacists' adherence to dispensing regulations (36.5%).
Most pharmacists believed that they had observed pregabalin abuse and that it was increasing. They managed the situation primarily by reporting the drug was unavailable and refusing to dispense it. Effective community pharmacy-based interventions are strongly needed to tackle the issue of pregabalin abuse.
普瑞巴林滥用现象日益普遍，且会造成严重危害。本研究旨在评估社区药剂师对普瑞巴林滥用的认知以及他们针对该问题提出的建议。
这是一项于2022年在喀土穆恩图曼地区开展的描述性横断面研究。随机选择社区药房，并使用在智能手机上进行的经过预测试的自填式问卷进行调查。使用社会科学统计软件包第26版进行卡方检验和费舍尔精确检验。
共有172名社区药剂师完成了问卷（77.8%年龄在22 - 30岁之间，65.1%为女性，79.1%拥有学士学位，57.6%工作经验≤5年）。大多数参与者（81.4%）认为他们在过去6个月中观察到了普瑞巴林滥用情况。参与者表示他们知晓普瑞巴林的滥用可能性（97.7%），并且他们通常仅凭处方调配普瑞巴林（92.4%）。大多数参与者报告称，他们怀疑滥用普瑞巴林的人主要是男性（98.8%），年龄在21 - 30岁之间（90.7%），且不经常光顾药房（72.7%）。针对这类顾客采取的措施包括表示产品无货（64.0%）和拒绝调配（56.4%）。最常被推荐的解决方案是提高社区对普瑞巴林滥用风险和后果的认识（35.8%）以及加强药剂师对调配规定的遵守（36.5%）。
大多数药剂师认为他们观察到了普瑞巴林滥用现象，且这种现象正在增加。他们主要通过报告药品无货和拒绝调配来处理这种情况。迫切需要基于社区药房的有效干预措施来解决普瑞巴林滥用问题。
