ArticlePloS one2020
Dispensing of antibiotics without prescription and associated factors in drug retail outlets of Eritrea: A simulated client method.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Point prevalence of evidence-based antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- Substandard and falsified antimicrobials in selected east African countries: A systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Non-prescription dispensing of antibiotic agents among community drug retail outlets in Sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of antimicrobial stewardship practices and challenges in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) regulated retail medicine settings.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Review
- Community pharmacists' history taking practice in responding to acute uncomplicated cystitis: A simulated patient study from Sudan.PloS one · 2026Article
- Prevalence of self-medication practices with antibiotics and associated factors among students in five colleges in Eritrea: a cross-sectional study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- The magnitude and predictors of self-medication amongst street dwellers in Ethiopia: a multicentre study.Drugs in context · 2024Article
- Antimicrobial stewardship in private pharmacies in Wakiso district, Uganda: a qualitative study.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2023Article
- The Extent of Antibiotic Dispensing in Self-Medication Encounters in Sudan: A Simulated Patient Study Focusing on Cefixime Sale.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2023Article
- Practices and motives behind antibiotics provision in drug outlets in Tanzania: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2023Article
- Profiling of antimicrobial dispensing practices in accredited drug dispensing outlets in Tanzania: a mixed-method cross-sectional study focusing on pediatric patients.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on the Dissemination of ARGs in the Environment-A Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Demand of COVID-19 medicines without prescription among community pharmacies in Jodhpur, India: Findings and implications.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2022Article
- Article
- Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pharmacy Professionals Against Dispensing Antibiotics Without Prescription in Ethiopia.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2022Article
- Medication selection for the treatment of acute infective diarrhea in Thai pharmacies: a qualitative study.Translational and clinical pharmacology · 2021Article
- Standardised patient study to assess tuberculosis case detection within the private pharmacy sector in Vietnam.BMJ global health · 2021Article
- Knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotics and their determinants in Eritrea: an urban population-based survey.BMJ open · 2021Article
- An Interventional Call-Back Service to Improve Appropriate Use of Antibiotics in Community Pharmacies.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dispensing antibiotics without prescription is irrational and can hasten the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. This study aims at determining the extent of this practice and its determinants in all drug retail outlets of Eritrea. A cross-sectional simulated client method was used to conduct the study. Data was collected between July and August 2019, entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 22. Descriptive analysis was performed using mean (standard deviation), median (interquartile range), frequency, percentage, as appropriate, for independent variables. Logistic regression, at bivariate and multivariate levels, along with odds ratio (95% confidence interval) was used to determine the association between the dispensing of antibiotics without prescription and independent variables. P-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. The extent of dispensing antibiotics without prescription was found to be 87.6% with the most frequently dispensed antibiotics being ciprofloxacin (47.8%) and co-trimoxazole (37.5%). Furthermore, 12.4% of the drug retail outlet attendants did not dispense antibiotics because they preferred a referral to health facilities (52.6%), were following administrative restrictions not to sell antibiotics (42.1%), or did not have the necessary antibiotics (31.6%). Private community pharmacies (AOR = 7.68, 95% CI: 1.67, 35.37; p = 0.009) and private drug shops (AOR = 10.65, 95% CI: 1.96, 57.93; p = 0.006) were more likely to dispense antibiotics compared to the governmental community pharmacies. Dispensing antibiotics without prescription was more likely to occur in the Maekel (central) region (AOR = 3.76, 95% CI: 1.19, 11.92; p = 0.024) compared to the remaining regions combined. In conclusion, the sales of antibiotics without prescription in the drug retail outlets of Eritrea is alarming which requires immediate attention from policymakers.
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