ArticleBMC pharmacology & toxicology2024
Informal sale of antibiotics in Guatemalan convenience stores before and after implementation of federal antibiotic dispensing legislation.
Article in BMC pharmacology & toxicology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Antimicrobial resistance interventions in Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review of reported interventions between 2018-2024.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Article
- Trends inAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- A Decade of Antimicrobial Resistance in Human and AnimalAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundConvenience stores in Guatemala provide essential consumer goods in communities, but many dispense antibiotics illegally. Federal legislation, passed in August of 2019, requires prescriptions for antibiotic purchase at pharmacies but it is unclear if this legislation is enforced or if it has any impact on unlawful sales of antibiotics.
methodsTo determine if antibiotic availability changed in convenience stores, we carried out a repeated measures study collecting antibiotic availability data before and after implementation of the dispensing regulation.
resultsThere was no statistical difference in the proportion of convenience stores that sold antibiotics before and after antibiotic regulations [66.6% (295/443) and 66.7% (323/484), respectively, P>0.96], nor in the number of stores selling amoxicillin [55.5% (246/443) and 52.3% (253/484), respectively, P>0.96], but fewer stores (20%) sold tetracycline capsules after regulation was passed (P<0.05). For stores visited both before and after passage of legislation (n=157), 15% stopped selling antibiotics while 25% started selling antibiotics. Antibiotics from convenience stores were reportedly sold for use in people and animals.
conclusionsAntibiotics remain widely available in convenience stores consistent with no significant change in the informal sector after implementation of prescription requirements for pharmacies. Importantly, effects from regulatory change could have been masked by potential changes in antibiotic use during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.
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