Alnezary Faris S, Alahmadi Dina A, Abduljaleel Fatima N, Alharbi Riham G, Alzahrani Fahad, Almutairi Masaad S
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Madinah 41477, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Nov 27;12(23):2385. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12232385.
Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to global health, and community pharmacists are positioned to play a crucial role in mitigating this issue. The present study aimed to evaluate the extent of compliance among community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia with relevant regulations and clinical guidelines in the management of suspected infectious diarrhea.
This cross-sectional study employed simulated patients presenting with diarrhea to assess the management practices within 200 community pharmacies in two major cities across Saudi Arabia. Trained pharmacy students presented pharmacists with three case scenarios involving adult patients with diarrhea. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to examine the relationships between pharmacist characteristics and practice categories.
The findings of this study indicate that the performance of community pharmacists in managing diarrhea is suboptimal. Notably, less adequate practice emerged as the predominant outcome at 63% (n = 126). Only 14% (n = 28) of pharmacists demonstrated adequate practice, while 23% (n = 46) exhibited poor investigative practice. Metronidazole dispensing increased across scenarios, from 16.92% (n = 11) in Scenario 1 to 30.3% (n = 20) in Scenario 3. Most pharmacists inquired about the patient's age (72%; n = 144); however, only a limited number probed for symptoms of dehydration (5.5%, n = 11) and medication history (3%, n = 6). A significant association was found between geographical location and practice performance ( = 0.015).
This study reveals significant deficiencies in the management of infection-related diarrhea, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced training and regulatory measures within community pharmacy settings in Saudi Arabia to improve patient care and effectively address antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
抗菌药物耐药性对全球健康构成重大威胁，社区药剂师在缓解这一问题方面可发挥关键作用。本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯社区药剂师在疑似感染性腹泻管理中遵守相关法规和临床指南的程度。
本横断面研究利用模拟腹泻患者来评估沙特阿拉伯两个主要城市200家社区药房的管理实践。经过培训的药学专业学生向药剂师提供了三个涉及成年腹泻患者的病例场景。统计分析包括描述性统计和卡方检验，以检验药剂师特征与实践类别之间的关系。
本研究结果表明，社区药剂师在腹泻管理方面的表现欠佳。值得注意的是，63%（n = 126）的主要结果是实践不够充分。只有14%（n = 28）的药剂师表现出充分的实践，而23%（n = 46）的药剂师表现出较差的调查实践。在各个病例场景中，甲硝唑的配药率有所增加，从病例场景1中的16.92%（n = 11）增至病例场景3中的30.3%（n = 20）。大多数药剂师询问了患者的年龄（72%；n = 144）；然而，只有少数人询问了脱水症状（5.5%，n = 11）和用药史（3%，n = 6）。发现地理位置与实践表现之间存在显著关联（P = 0.015）。
本研究揭示了感染性腹泻管理方面的重大缺陷，强调沙特阿拉伯社区药房迫切需要加强培训和监管措施，以改善患者护理并有效应对抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）。
