Trial reportPloS one2022
Strengthening patients' triage in community pharmacies: A cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the clinical impact of a minor ailment service.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 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.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Individual Perceptions and Self-Care Practices for Abdominal Pain: A Cross-Sectional Survey Conducted in Italian Community Pharmacies.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Clinical and Humanistic Impact of a Self-Care and Minor Ailment Service (MAS).Communications medicine · 2026Article
- From informal practice to structured care: pharmaceutical indication and minor ailment management in Latin American community pharmacy.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- [Pharmaceutical interventions in the new medicine service].Farmaceuticos comunitarios · 2025Article
- Perspectives of pharmacy staff on provision of self-care and minor ailment education in primary schools: a qualitative study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2024Article
- Improving Proton-Pump Inhibitor Adherence Intervention Between Primary Care and Community Pharmacies: A Pre-Post Intervention Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Development of self-care in Spanish community pharmacies.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- [Factors and strategies for the implementation of a minor ailment service: a case study].Farmaceuticos comunitarios · 2023Article
- Identification of high-risk patients for referral through machine learning assisting the decision making to manage minor ailments in community pharmacies.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-perceived minor ailments might conceal other health conditions if patients are not appropriately assisted by health care professionals. The aim of the study was to evaluate the patient-related outcomes of a community pharmacy Minor Ailment Service (MAS) compared to usual pharmacist care (UC).
methodsA cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted over six months in community pharmacy in the province of Valencia (Spain). Patients seeking care or requesting a product for a minor ailments considered in the study (dermatological problems, gastrointestinal disturbance, pain and upper respiratory tract related symptoms) were included. The intervention consisted of a standardised pharmacist-patient consultation guided by a web-based program using co-developed management protocols and patients' educational material. Patients were followed up by phone ten days later. Primary clinical outcomes were appropriate medical referral and modification of direct product request. Secondary outcomes were symptom resolution and reconsultation rates.
resultsA total of 808 patients (323 MAS and 485 UC) were recruited in 27 pharmacies of 21 municipalities. Patients visiting MAS pharmacies had higher odds for being referred to a physician (OR = 2.343, CI95% = [1.146-4.792]) and higher reconsultation rates (OR = 1.833, CI95% = [1.151-2.919]) compared to UC. No significant differences between groups were observed for modification of direct product request and symptom resolution.
conclusionsThe use of management protocols through the MAS strengthened the identification of referral criteria such as red flags in patients suffering minor ailments. These patients with symptoms of minor ailments possibly due to more severe illness were to be referred and evaluated by physicians. Results reinforce that MAS increases safety for those patients consulting in community pharmacy for minor ailments.
trial registrationTrial registration number: ISRCTN17235323. Retrospectively registered 07/05/2021, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17235323.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.