Dispensing of non-prescribed antibiotics in Jordan

Dispensing of non-prescribed antibiotics in Jordan

Blog Article

Ammar Almaaytah,1 Tareq L Mukattash,2 Julia Hajaj2 1Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, 2Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan Objective: Current regulations in Jordan state that antibiotics cannot be sold without a medical prescription.This study aimed to assess the percentage of pharmacies that dispense antibiotics without a medical prescription in the Kingdom of Jordan and identify and highlight the extent and seriousness of such practices among Jordanian pharmacies.Methods: A prospective study was performed, and five different clinical scenarios were simulated at pharmacies investigated including sore throat, otitis media, acute sinusitis, diarrhea, and urinary tract infection in childbearing-aged women.Three levels of demand were used to convince the pharmacists to sell an antibiotic.

Results: A total of 202 total pharmacies in Jordan were visited in the present study.The majority of pharmacies (74.3%) dispensed antibiotics without prescription with three different levels of demand.The percentage of pharmacies dispensing antibiotics without a prescription for the sore throat Rocks Glasses scenario was 97.

6%, followed by urinary tract infection (83.3%), diarrhea (83%), and otitis media (68.4%).The Dish Towel lowest percentage of antibiotic dispensing was for the acute sinusitis simulation at 48.

5%.Among the pharmacies that dispensed antibiotics, the pharmacists provided an explanation as the number of times per day the drug should be taken in 95.3% of the cases, explained the duration of treatment in 25.7%, and inquired about allergies prior to the sale of the antibiotic in only 17.

3%.Only 52 pharmacies (25.7%) refused to dispense any kind of antibiotics, the majority (61.5%) of this refusal response came from acute sinusitis cases, while the minority (2.

4%) came from the sore throat cases.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that antibiotics continue to be dispensed without prescription in Jordan in violation with national regulations regarding this practice.The findings of this study could provide a layout for governmental health authorities to implement strict enfrorcment of national regulations regarding antibiotic dispensing in order to avoid the serious complications that could arise in the future as a result of such practices.Keywords: pharmacy, pharmacy practice, non-prescribed antibiotics, microbial resistance, Jordan.