Abstract
Purpose: To assess Pharmacists’ Perceptions and Experiences of Topical Antibacterial Drug Dispensing in Community Pharmacy Setting in Kedah State, Malaysia in order to minimize drug resistance issues. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving a pre-validated questionnaire was conducted in community pharmacies within Kedah State, Malaysia. Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. The collected were analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 18.0. Results: The result shows that, 53.4 % of CPs in Kedah State perceived that topical antibacterial is not necessary for every topical bacterial infection. Fusidic acid was the most frequently dispensed topical antibacterial drug while superficial wound was reported to be the most frequently encountered topical bacterial infection. CPs (12.60 %) encountered antibacterial resistance cases but none reported them. The drug that had resistance issue was neomycin. Conclusion: CPs in Kedah State, Malaysia generally have the right perceptions on the dispensing of topical antibacterial drugs. However, their knowledge on the rational use of topical antibacterial drugs and vigilance on antibacterial resistance issue need improvement.
Highlights
Skin diseases are among the most common health problem worldwide which affect around 30 to 70 % of individuals in the United States [1]
The role played by CPs in gatekeeping these medications is very important as inappropriate usage of topical antibacterial drugs has been recognized as one of the factor that leads to antibacterial resistances [7]
A total of 103 completed questionnaires were collected from the CPs in Kedah State, Malaysia
Summary
Skin diseases are among the most common health problem worldwide which affect around 30 to 70 % of individuals in the United States [1]. Most of the skin diseases are non-fatal, but they are considered to cause burden on health status as well as quality of life (QOL) [2]. Bacterial skin infection being one of them is usually caused by the invasion of pathogens through the skin flora [3]. In this case, topical antibacterial drug play a vital role to either kills or inhibits the growth of the bacterial [4]. The role played by CPs in gatekeeping these medications is very important as inappropriate usage of topical antibacterial drugs has been recognized as one of the factor that leads to antibacterial resistances [7]
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