ArticlePloS one2022
Restriction on antimicrobial dispensing without prescription on a national level: Impact on the overall antimicrobial utilization in the community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Real-world evidence on antibiotic use among privately insured beneficiaries in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective analysis of claims data.BMJ open · 2026Article
- A One Health Perspective onMicroorganisms · 2026Review
- Administrative interventions in antimicrobial stewardship: a global scoping review of all WHO regions.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Determinants of Public Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Antibiotic Use in Saudi Arabia: A Regional Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Sustainable solutions to the continuous threat of antimicrobial resistance.Health affairs scholar · 2025Article
- The epidemiology of gram-negative bacteremia in Lebanon: a study in four hospitals.Annals of clinical microbiology and antimicrobials · 2024Article
- Article
- Evaluating the effectiveness of the Ministry of Health restriction policy on seasonal antibiotic consumption trends in Saudi Arabia, 2016-2020.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Infectious diseases pharmacy practice, education, and research in Saudi Arabia: A review and future perspectives by the Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Specialty Network at the Saudi Society of Clinical Pharmacy.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2022Review
- Prevalence of antibiotic misuse in cases of pneumonia and diarrhea in Saudi Arabia.Drug target insightsArticle
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHigh rates of non-prescription dispensing of antimicrobials have led to a significant increase in the antimicrobial overuse and misuse in Saudi Arabia (SA). The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial utilization following the enforcement of a new prescription-only antimicrobial dispensing policy in the community pharmacy setting in SA.
methodsData were extracted from the IQVIA database between May 2017 and May 2019. The antimicrobial utilization rates, based on sales, defined daily dose in grams (DDD), DDD/1000 inhabitants/day (DID), and antimicrobial-claims for the pre-policy (May 2017 to April 2018) and post-policy (June 2018 to May 2019) periods were assessed.
resultsOverall antimicrobial utilization declined slightly (~9-10%) in the post-policy versus pre-policy period (sales, 31,334 versus 34,492 thousand units; DDD, 183,134 versus 202,936), with higher claims (~16%) after policy implementation. There was a sudden drop in the utilization rate immediately after policy enforcement; however, the values increased subsequently, closely matching the pre-policy values. Utilization patterns were similar in both periods; penicillin was the most used antimicrobial (sales: 11,648-14,700-thousand units; DDD: 71,038-91,227; DID: 2.88-3.78). For both periods, the highest dip in utilization was observed in July (sales: 1,027-1,559 thousand units; DDD: 6,194-9,399), while the highest spike was in March/October (sales: 3,346-3,884 thousand units; DDD: 22,329-19,453).
conclusionNon-prescription antimicrobial utilization reduced minimally following policy implementation in the community pharmacies across SA. Effective implementation of prescription-only regulations is necessary.
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