Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dispensing medicines in the community pharmacy.

IF 0.9 Q4 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RISK & SAFETY IN MEDICINE Pub Date : 2023-01-01 DOI:10.3233/JRS-220061

Shafq Al-Azzawi, Dhafir Masheta

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The world has faced an unprecedented challenge since COVID-19 emerged as a pandemic, which has led to quarantine and disruptions in drug services. During the pandemic, drug use habits and availability changed, causing a shift in behaviors and, in turn, medicine misuse. In Iraq, this is a major problem because many medicines can be easily obtained.

Objective: The study aims to describe the pattern of dispensing medications during the pandemic and to evaluate the biochemical and pathological consequences.

Method: The analytical, observational, cross-sectional study was performed via a compiled questionnaire for 400 random pharmacists, and the analysis and interpretation of the biochemical changes and medical reports.

Results: Results revealed that dispensing of medications since the COVID-19 outbreak has increased by 74%, and the demand for medicines seems higher than required in comparison to the periods before the pandemic, while 60% of the dispensed medicines were taken just in case needed. In addition, the availability of medicines decreased by 61%, and the dispensing of common medicines increased due to the belief in their prophylactic action. Several biochemical abnormalities and pathological consequences were recorded due to the irrational use of medicines, and the highest percentage (12%) was seen in hepatic and liver enzymatic dysfunction and 8% for the endocrine and hormonal abnormalities.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that most of the dispensed medicines were not used on a therapeutic or scientific basis during the pandemic.

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COVID-19 大流行对社区药房配药的影响。

背景：自 COVID-19 成为大流行病以来，世界面临着前所未有的挑战，这导致了隔离和药物服务的中断。在大流行期间，人们的用药习惯和药物供应发生了变化，导致了行为的转变，进而引发了药物滥用。在伊拉克，这是一个大问题，因为许多药品都很容易获得：研究旨在描述大流行期间的配药模式，并评估其生化和病理后果：方法：通过对 400 名随机药剂师进行问卷调查，并对生化变化和医疗报告进行分析和解读，从而开展分析性、观察性、横断面研究：结果显示，自 COVID-19 爆发以来，配药量增加了 74%，与疫情爆发前相比，药品需求量似乎高于需求量，而 60% 的配药都是为了以备不时之需。此外，药品的供应量减少了 61%，而普通药品的配发量则因相信其预防作用而有所增加。不合理用药导致了多种生化异常和病理后果，其中肝脏和肝酶功能异常的比例最高（12%），内分泌和激素异常的比例为 8%：结论：可以得出的结论是，在大流行期间，大多数配发的药品并没有在治疗或科学的基础上使用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RISK & SAFETY IN MEDICINE PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

17.60%

发文量

102

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine is concerned with rendering the practice of medicine as safe as it can be; that involves promoting the highest possible quality of care, but also examining how those risks which are inevitable can be contained and managed. This is not exclusively a drugs journal. Recently it was decided to include in the subtitle of the journal three items to better indicate the scope of the journal, i.e. patient safety, pharmacovigilance and liability and the Editorial Board was adjusted accordingly. For each of these sections an Associate Editor was invited. We especially want to emphasize patient safety.