ArticlePharmacy practice2013
Evaluation of the supply of antifungal medication for the treatment of vaginal thrush in the community pharmacy setting: a randomized controlled trial.
Article in Pharmacy practice, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to reduce non-prescription antimicrobial sales in community pharmacies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- A qualitative non-participant observational study of non-prescription counseling in community pharmacies.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Article
- Use of professional practice guidance resources in pharmacy: a cross-sectional nationwide survey of pharmacists, intern pharmacists, and pharmacy students.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2021Article
- Prevalence and Predictors of Self-Medication with Antifungal Drugs and Herbal Products Among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from Egypt.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Article
- Development of a Theory-Based Intervention to Enhance Information Exchange during Over-The-Counter Consultations in Community Pharmacy.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
- Non-prescription treatment of NSAID induced GORD by Australian pharmacies: a national simulated patient study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2015Observational
- Role of community pharmacists in patients' self-care and self-medication.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2015Review
- Article
- Assessment and management of serotonin syndrome in a simulated patient study of Australian community pharmacies.Pharmacy practiceArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Pharmaceutical Society of Australia have developed "guidance" for the supply of several medicines available without prescription to the general public. Limited research has been published assessing the effect of these guidelines on the provision of medication within the practice of pharmacy.
objectiveTo assess appropriate supply of non-prescription antifungal medications for the treatment of vaginal thrush in community pharmacies, with and without a guideline. A secondary aim was to describe the assessment and counseling provided to patients when requesting this medication.
methodsA randomized controlled trial was undertaken whereby two simulated patients conducted visits to 100 randomly selected community pharmacies in a metropolitan region. A product-based request for fluconazole (an oral antifungal that has a guideline was compared to a product-based request for clotrimazole (a topical antifungal without a guideline). The same patient details were used for both requests. Outcome measures of the visits were the appropriateness of supply and referral to a medical practitioner.
resultsOverall 16% (n=16) of visits resulted in an appropriate outcome; 10% (n=5) of fluconozaole requests compared with 22% (n=11) of clotrimazole requests (chi-square=2.68, p=0.10). There was a difference in the type of assessment performed by pharmacy staff between visits for fluconazole and clotrimazole. A request for clotrimazole resulted in a significant increase in frequency in regards to assessment of the reason for the request (chi-square=8.57, p=0.003), symptom location (chi-square=8.27, p=0.004), and prior history (chi-square=5.09, p=0.02).
conclusionsOverall practice was poor, with the majority of pharmacies inappropriately supplying antifungal medication. New strategies are required to improve current practice of community pharmacies for provision of non-prescription antifungals in the treatment of vaginal thrush.
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