Khaled Arwa
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
J Eval Clin Pract. 2025 Feb;31(1):e14298. doi: 10.1111/jep.14298.
To assess and evaluate consumer awareness and common medication use practices towards OTC analgesics, with a focus on the impact of irrational drug use and its implications for public health and safety. This includes identifying gaps in knowledge, evaluating the potential consequences of misuse, and discussing how these findings can inform future educational initiatives and policy development to promote safer medication practices.
This was a cross-sectional, semi-quantitative survey of 750 Saudi volunteers both males and females aged between 18 and 65 years. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used among randomly selected volunteers with a history of OTC analgesic use.
A total of 750 questionnaires were administered and the response rate was measured to be 75.6%. More than 50% of the study population used OTC analgesics without a prescription and reported using analgesics as soon as they start experiencing any pain. Paracetamol was found to be the most predominantly used analgesic. The most common indication of OTC analgesic use was reported for headache and toothache whereas irrational use of analgesics in terms of dose, frequency and indication was found to be to the extent of 50%. Primary source of information related to OTC analgesic use was obtained from pharmacy personnel (31.7%), and Patient Insert Leaflets (PIL) (28.7%). Majority of the respondents (64.3%) didn't know the safe maximum dose of Paracetamol, whereas 73.3% used to stop medicine only after experiencing some side effects. 52.4% of the respondents were not aware about the most common side effects, and potential interactions of analgesic medications.
Our study highlights the menace of self-medication practices and irrational use of OTC analgesic by the study participants. Immediate remedial measure need to be taken to discourage self-medication and improve rational use of OTC drugs which can be achieved by focusing on improving the consumers' awareness of self-medication and the rational use of medications.
评估和评价消费者对非处方镇痛药的认知及常用用药习惯，重点关注不合理用药的影响及其对公众健康和安全的意义。这包括找出知识差距、评估误用的潜在后果，以及讨论这些发现如何为未来的教育举措和政策制定提供信息，以促进更安全的用药习惯。
这是一项横断面、半定量调查，对象为750名年龄在18至65岁之间的沙特志愿者，包括男性和女性。在随机选择的有非处方镇痛药使用史的志愿者中使用经过验证的自填式问卷。
共发放750份问卷，测得回复率为75.6%。超过50%的研究人群在没有处方的情况下使用非处方镇痛药，并报告说一旦开始疼痛就立即使用镇痛药。对乙酰氨基酚被发现是使用最普遍的镇痛药。报告的非处方镇痛药最常见的适应证是头痛和牙痛，而在剂量、频率和适应证方面的不合理用药比例达50%。与非处方镇痛药使用相关的主要信息来源是药剂人员（31.7%）和患者说明书（28.7%）。大多数受访者（64.3%）不知道对乙酰氨基酚的安全最大剂量，而73.3%的人只有在出现一些副作用后才会停药。52.4%的受访者不知道镇痛药最常见的副作用和潜在相互作用。
我们的研究凸显了研究参与者自我用药行为和不合理使用非处方镇痛药的危害。需要立即采取补救措施，以劝阻自我用药并改善非处方药的合理使用，这可以通过着重提高消费者对自我用药和合理用药的认识来实现。
