The management of upper gastrointestinal symptoms: A study on community pharmacies in Italy
| Main Authors: | Keber, Enrico, Rocco, Paolo, Musazzi, Umberto M., Morselli-Labate, Antonio M., Floris, Nicolina P., Pedrazzini, Ambra, Minghetti, Paola, Giua, Corrado |
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| Format: | Article Journal |
| Terbitan: |
Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Scientific Society
, 2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/4764247 |
Daftar Isi:
- Upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are usual complaints among patients presenting to Italian community pharmacies. However, information on treatment history of those patients is often lacking. This descriptive, cross-sectional study aims at exploring the medication history of individuals with upper GI tract symptoms visiting one of the 20 enrolled community pharmacies, over a period of 7 months, based on the administration of a questionnaire. Of 1,020 interviewees, 62.1% had asked for a medical consultation. The most frequent symptom was epigastric burning (31.8%), followed by acid regurgitation (14.6%) and post-prandial fullness (12.0%). Of the 1,609 therapies, proton pump inhibitors constituted the most represented therapeutic class (35.6%) followed by antacids (17.5%) and alginate-based products (17.2%). In treating symptoms, 38.1% of the patients do not seek medical advice, while 42.0% rely on non-prescription therapies. As findings suggest, support to patients with GI disorders in community pharmacies can be enhanced for a safer self-medication.