The knowledge and approach of community pharmacists in the management of acute diarrahoea: a survey of nintey-two (92) pharmacies throughout Trinidad - Poster abstract

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the awareness of pharmacists in Trinidad of the WHO guidelines for treating acute diarrhoea in children and adults, and if medication was dispensed in accordance with these guidelines. DESIGN AND METHODS: From 220 retail pharmacies a representative sample of 92 pharmacies was randomly selected from the eight counties in Trinidad. Pharmacists were interviewed using a pilot tested questionnaire with hypothetical child and adult cases for which recommendations were invited for treatment. RESULTS: As the first choice of therapy for children, 69.6 percent of the pharmacists recommended oral rehydration salts (ORS), compared with 32.6 percent for adults (p<0.01). For children, 5 (6.6 percent) pharmacists recommended ORS in combination with an anti-diarrhoeal and an adsorbent respectively and 3 (1.3 percent) recommended it with an anti-spasmodic. For adults, 22 pharmacists (37.4 percent) recommended ORS with anti-diarrhoeals, 3 (5.1 percent) with anti-spasmodics and 2 (3.4 percent) with adsorbents and anti-microbials, respectively. Only 51 (55.4 percent) pharmacists interviewed knew of the WHO guidelines. Of those, 89 percent recommended ORS as the first choice of therapy for a child and 64 percent recommended it in adults (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Pharmacists in Trinidad preferentially recommend ORS as the first choice therapy for acute diarrhoea in children and not in adults. Educational intervention to reinforce the WHO guidelines is recommended since pharmacists are the first patient contact.(AU)