Dispensing of Antibiotics without Prescription in Community Pharmacy in Baghdad, Iraq

This study aimed to evaluate the pattern of dispensing antibiotics without a prescription in a community pharmacy in Baghdad, as well as to understand the factors influencing the dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription. A cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists to describe the dispensing of antibiotics in community pharmacies. The convenience sampling method was applied to select the required sample from a community pharmacy in Baghdad. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the data from the participants. The majority of community pharmacists (94.2%) dispensed antibiotics without a prescription in their community pharmacy. Most of them (59.6%) reported that oral antibiotics were the most common form dispensed without a prescription. In addition, 23.6% of participants reported that they also dispensed parenteral antibiotics without a prescription. The highest percent of antibiotics dispensed without prescription were for UTIs (94.2%), sore throat (70.9%), and earache (70.3%). The most common dispensed antibiotics without prescription were Amoxicillin (96.9%) Amoxicillin/ Clavulanate (88.2%), Cephalexin (70.6%), Ceftriaxone (61.2%), Cefixime (67.7%), Ciprofloxacin (87.4%), Azithromycin (94.2%), and Metronidazole (85.6%). This study showed that community pharmacists were commonly dispensing antibiotics without a prescription at community pharmacies. Therefore, rigorous rules are needed to control the sale of antibiotics in community pharmacies.

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