Availability of over-the-counter drugs for arthritis in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Drug use and health-seeking behavior for childhood illness in Vietnam—A qualitative study

“…It is worrisome that antibiotics are so often combined with corticosteroids. These findings are similar to examples of irrational corticoid use reported in several studies for inappropriate indications like diarrhea, fever, jaundice and lower back pain [7,18]. In most cases of infectious diseases, steroid use is contraindicated, as it can lead to more serious disease [25].…”

“…This study demonstrates the presence of self-medication with antibiotics, sometimes after consulting a friend, or based on copying a previous prescription. Other findings have suggested that self-medication might reduce the burden on health providers and decrease the cost of treatment; and, hence, that restrictions on the access to drugs should be relaxed [18][19][20]. However, the trend of using antibiotics without a proper diagnosis entails many health risks.…”

Irrational use of antibiotics and role of the pharmacist: an insight from a qualitative study in New Delhi, India

“…One group was comprised exclusively of retail pharmacists (14) who ran their own private retail pharmacies, commonly called chemist shops in New Delhi. The second FGD was for public sector pharmacists (8) but a few private pharmacists (5) who had been unable to attend the first meeting joined the group. The third FGD was made up of leaders (3) and office bearers (4) of pharmacists’ organizations and six (6) enthusiastic retail pharmacist members from those organizations.…”

“…Dispensing by pharmacists has not been given much importance in studies of antibiotic usage, compared to other processes such as diagnosis, and drug procurement, inventory control and distribution. It is important to study dispensing behaviour as in many developing countries antibiotics are easily available without a prescription (8–12). Most of the studies focusing on pharmacists highlight their dispensing practice and their role in facilitating self‐medication (3, 13), but studies on the perceptions and practices of dispensers are lacking (14).…”

Prevalência e fatores associados ao uso de antiinflamatórios não-esteróides por pacientes submetidos a endoscopia digestiva alta, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 2000

“…De qualquer maneira, o fato de o uso concomitante de AINE e corticosteróide ter sido alto pode indicar uma tendência de coprescrição destes dois fármacos no tratamento de doenças reumáticas na prática médica. Esse fato sugere a necessidade de aprofundamento no estudo desta questão, tendo em vista que pouco se conhece sobre o perfil de utilização de anti-reumáticos no Brasil, mas há indícios de uso abusivo de corticosteróides nesse cenário 20,21 .…”