Abstract
BackgroundRecent studies have reflected increased global concern regarding the possible acceleration of bacterial resistance secondary to the reported overuse and misuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the nonprescribed sale of antibiotics by community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 outbreak and the pharmacists’ skills in triaging COVID-19 suspects.MethodsHerein, 120 pharmacies were randomly selected and surveyed by simulated clients who presented gradual demands to convince the encountered pharmacists to agree to the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics. The pharmacists’ responses and counseling skills were documented in addition to their effectiveness in triaging suspected COVID-19 cases.ResultsNineteen pharmacists (15.8%) were convinced to sell nonprescribed antibiotics after various levels of demand by clients. Moreover, twenty pharmacists (16.7%), who refused to sell nonprescribed antibiotics, referred the clients to clinics where they could easily obtain prescriptions, or to other pharmacies that violate the system. In addition, 29 pharmacists (24.2%) were not concerned about possible COVID-19 suspects, and 47–66 (39.2–55%) of them demonstrated different responses and recommendations. Moreover, 12 pharmacists of the 19 who violated the law did not offer any counseling regarding the use of the antibiotics.ConclusionsThe nonprescribed sale of antibiotics is still prevalent and may have increased during the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia, thereby increasing the risk of accelerated bacterial resistance. The pharmacists’ skills in triaging COVID-19 suspects and patient education and counseling were below expectations. Further follow-up studies are highly recommended.
Highlights
Recent studies have reflected increased global concern regarding the possible acceleration of bacterial resistance secondary to the reported overuse and misuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic
The aim of this study was to investigate the over-thecounter sale of antibiotics by community pharmacies in Madinah, Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the quality of patient counseling offered by the pharmacists
24% of pharmacists were completely careless about the possibility that the patient might have caught the infection. These findings indicate the unpreparedness of community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia for the pandemic as reported earlier [28]
Summary
Recent studies have reflected increased global concern regarding the possible acceleration of bacterial resistance secondary to the reported overuse and misuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bacterial resistance to antimicrobials confuses healthcare providers and places an economic burden on health systems because it limits the choices of alternative, effective agents, which are more expensive, and increases hospital admissions [8, 9]. For these reasons, international health institutions and authorities have issued strict guidelines to regulate the prescription, dispensing, and sale of antibiotics, especially in community pharmacies [10, 11]. Malpractice in selling antibiotics without a regular prescription is still rampant in many countries [12,13,14,15]
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