ArticleBMC family practice2021
Pharmacist's recommendations of over-the-counter treatments for the common cold - analysis of prospective cases in Poland.
Article in BMC family practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Navigating Global Regulatory Divergence in Over-the-counter Drugs: Addressing Emerging Risks and Harmonization Challenges.Current drug research reviews · 2026Review
- Holistic care in mild upper respiratory tract infections (MURTIs): an approach to individualized care management.Drugs in context · 2025Review
- Awareness and practices of community pharmacists toward dextromethorphan misuse in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: implications for regulation and public health.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Euphorbium compositum SN improves the innate defenses of the airway mucosal barrier network during rhinovirus infection.Respiratory research · 2024Article
- Self-efficacy of community pharmacists and associated factors in counselling to support self-medication in Japan: A cross-sectional study.Pharmacy practiceArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCommon cold is a frequent illness in northern hemisphere between late autumn and early spring. Patients suffering from it frequently turn to pharmacists instead of physicians in order to receive medical advice and treatment. We studied its treatment advised by pharmacists in Poland, as well as evidence for the efficacy of their recommendations by utilizing a self-developed questionnaire and a study of existing literature.
methodsThe data were collected by 27 pharmacists who worked in four large network community pharmacies in Lodz, Poland. The study took place from December 2019 to February 2020. Data were recorded only if the patient asked for pharmacy counselling for over-the counter (OTC) products due to common cold self-diagnosis and a product was sold. Pharmacists' recommendations were compared with the results of a literature review of best evidence to determine appropriateness of the pharmacists' decisions.
resultsIn four out of five cases the pharmacists recommended products contained paracetamol. In addition, in one out of three patient encounters they advised nasal decongestant, inosines and/or OTC mucolytics. There was a significant relationship between fever and recommendation frequency of some analgesics, inosines, mucolytics and sore throat products (OR > 1, p < 0.05); rhinorrhea and recommendation frequency of paracetamol, inosines, anti-histamines and alpha-mimetics (OR > 1, p < 0.05); cough and recommendation frequency of paracetamol, inosines, mucolytics and sore throat products (OR > 1, p < 0.05); and fatigue and recommendation frequency of paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid, inosines and sore throat products (OR > 1, p < 0.05). The pharmacist recommendations were based on patients' symptoms, product price, pharmaceutical company promotion and the financial incentive. In many cases their recommendations were not in line with current best practice recommendations.
conclusionsOur study suggests that the most common rationale for pharmacist recommendation on anti-common cold treatment was to take a "shotgun" approach. Pharmacists commonly made recommendations for products that lack strong evidence for efficacy (i.e. anti-viral agents) and are potentially unnecessary, based on presentation of the symptom. Reasons for this situation include lack of training, lack of time to evaluate the patient, lack of awareness of evidence as well as drug company marketing and financial incentives (i.e. fulfilling sale plans and target sale bonuses).
trial registrationThe study was a non-interventional, observational research trial. The study registration was not required.
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