Almazrooa Soulafa, Ali Sarah AlFarabi, Alfaqiri Noor Hakem, Alghamdi Khlood Mohammed, Baghdadi Nour, AlDehlawi Hebah, Akeel Sara
Oral Diagnostic Sciences Department, King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
General Dentistry, Alsarawat General Medical Complex, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Patient Prefer Adherence. 2025 Sep 8;19:2787-2796. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S540449. eCollection 2025.
Pharmacists may be an initial point-of-contact for patients with oral mucosal lesions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the proficiency of pharmacists in recognizing and managing oral mucosal lesions to help formulate educational recommendations for improvements in pharmacist-led patient care.
Pharmacists in community pharmacies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, completed structured interviews that included five images of oral mucosal lesions (Herpes labialis, Lichen planus, Traumatic lip ulcer, Candidiasis, and Squamous cell carcinoma) with short clinical scenarios. Pharmacists were asked how they would manage the patients and about their knowledge of oral cancer.
One hundred and forty pharmacists participated. Herpes labialis was correctly identified by 81.6% of pharmacists, followed by traumatic ulcers (65.2%). No pharmacist correctly identified lichen planus, while squamous cell carcinoma was correctly identified in 14.9% of cases. Lichen planus (51.8%) was most commonly referred to specialist services, followed by squamous cell carcinoma (45.4%). Most pharmacists prescribed over-the-counter medications to treat the lesions. Most pharmacists recommended appropriate antiviral treatment for herpes labialis (70.2%) and wound care for traumatic lip ulcers (71.6%). However, 68.1% referred patients to healthcare professionals. Around 75.2% of pharmacists opted to refer to healthcare providers in cancer patients.
While pharmacists could play a significant role in providing accurate and timely medical or pharmacological advice to patients with oral mucosal lesions, further education and training are required to improve knowledge to inform decision-making.
药剂师可能是口腔黏膜病变患者的首个接触点。本研究的目的是调查药剂师识别和处理口腔黏膜病变的能力，以帮助制定教育建议，改善药剂师主导的患者护理。
沙特阿拉伯吉达社区药房的药剂师完成了结构化访谈，访谈内容包括五张口腔黏膜病变（唇疱疹、扁平苔藓、创伤性唇溃疡、念珠菌病和鳞状细胞癌）的图片及简短的临床病例。药剂师被问及他们将如何处理这些患者以及他们对口腔癌的了解情况。
140名药剂师参与了研究。81.6%的药剂师正确识别出唇疱疹，其次是创伤性溃疡（65.2%）。没有药剂师正确识别出扁平苔藓，而鳞状细胞癌的正确识别率为14.9%。扁平苔藓（51.8%）最常被转诊至专科服务，其次是鳞状细胞癌（45.4%）。大多数药剂师开非处方药来治疗这些病变。大多数药剂师推荐了适当的抗病毒治疗用于唇疱疹（70.2%）和创伤性唇溃疡的伤口护理（71.6%）。然而，68.1%的药剂师将患者转诊给了医疗专业人员。约75.2%的药剂师选择将癌症患者转诊给医疗服务提供者。
虽然药剂师在为口腔黏膜病变患者提供准确及时的医疗或药理学建议方面可以发挥重要作用，但仍需要进一步的教育和培训来提高知识水平，以便做出决策。
