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Demand of COVID-19 medicines without prescription among community pharmacies in Jodhpur, India: Findings and implications
oleh: Siddhartha Dutta, Rimple J Kaur, Pankaj Bhardwaj, Sneha Ambwani, Brian Godman, Pallavi A Jha, Sanchi Sukhija, Suman S Venkatesh, Halyna Lugova, Salequl Islam, Jaykaran Charan, Mainul Haque
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022-01-01 |
Deskripsi
Background: COVID-19 pandemic led to increased self-medication of antimicrobials, vitamins, and immune boosters among the common people and consuming without prescription can lead to adverse consequences including antimicrobial resistance. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on community pharmacies in Jodhpur, India. They were inquired regarding the prescription and increased sales (<25%, 25—50%, 50--75%, or 75--100%) of various medicines (Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin, Ivermectin, and Vitamin C) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between requests for certain COVID-19 medications and an increase in their sale. Results: A total of 204 pharmacies took part, and 88.23% reported patients to approach them without prescriptions. Most of the pharmacies revealed that <25% of patients came without prescription. The majority came for azithromycin (68%) and vitamin C (92%). Increased sales of the four targeted medications were seen by 85.92% of pharmacies compared to last year. A majority (51.5%) reported <25% increased sales of azithromycin, but no change in the sale of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. However, 39.6% reported >75% increase in vitamin C sales. Conclusion: There was an increase in the demand for COVID-19 medications without prescription. This study was unable to detect a significant increase in sales of antimicrobials, which is encouraging.