Langer Bernhard, Kunow Christian, Dethloff Tim, George Sarah
Department of Health, Nursing, Management, Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Brodaer Straße 2, 17033 Neubrandenburg, Germany.
Adv Respir Med. 2025 Jun 13;93(3):18. doi: 10.3390/arm93030018.
For the self-medication of nasal congestion following a common cold, decongestant nasal sprays can be recommended according to the medicine guidelines. In Germany, these are only available in community pharmacies (CPs) with free pricing. The aim was to analyze the medication recommendation, counseling, and pricing. A covert simulated patient study, internationally recognized as the "gold standard", was conducted in all CPs of two medium-sized cities in north-eastern Germany. Each CP was visited twice (86 visits) with the identical scenario by one female and one male simulated patient. At the beginning, they asked for a nasal spray and, when asked, stated that they had had nasal congestion for three days. Slightly more than half (54.7%, 47/86) of the recommended nasal sprays were free of preservatives. The median counseling score was 2.0 out of 8 points, with a significantly higher score observed for the female SP ( = 0.004). Information on the maximum intake duration of five days recommended in the German pharmacy guideline was not provided during any visits. The prices varied in total from EUR 1.95 to EUR 6.22. Therefore, measures by the legislator and the chambers of pharmacists are necessary to sustainably improve the medication recommendation, the counseling, and the price transparency.
对于普通感冒后的鼻塞自我药疗，可根据药品指南推荐使用减充血剂滴鼻剂。在德国，这些药品仅在社区药房（CPs）有售，价格自由。目的是分析用药推荐、咨询和定价情况。在德国东北部两个中等城市的所有社区药房开展了一项被国际认可为“金标准”的隐蔽模拟患者研究。一名女性和一名男性模拟患者以相同场景对每个社区药房进行了两次走访（共86次走访）。开始时，他们索要滴鼻剂，并在被询问时表示鼻塞已持续三天。推荐的滴鼻剂中略超过一半（54.7%，47/86）不含防腐剂。咨询评分中位数为8分中的2.0分，女性模拟患者的得分显著更高（P = 0.004）。在任何一次走访中，均未提供德国药房指南中推荐的五天最大服用期限的信息。价格总计从1.95欧元到6.22欧元不等。因此，立法者和药剂师协会有必要采取措施，以可持续地改善用药推荐、咨询和价格透明度。
