Awareness of Lebanese Pharmacists towards the Use and Misuse of Gabapentinoids and Tramadol: A Cross-sectional Survey

Farah Tarhini; Reem Taky; Lynne H. Jaffal; Jinan Kresht; Gaelle El-Chaer; Sanaa Awada; Nathalie Lahoud; Dalia Khachman

doi:10.2991/dsahmj.k.200206.002

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Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 24 - 30

Awareness of Lebanese Pharmacists towards the Use and Misuse of Gabapentinoids and Tramadol: A Cross-sectional Survey

Authors

Farah Tarhini^†, Reem Taky^†, Lynne H. Jaffal, Jinan Kresht, Gaelle El-Chaer, Sanaa Awada, Nathalie Lahoud, Dalia Khachman^*

Clinical and Epidemiological Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Hadat, Lebanon

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

^*Corresponding author. Email: dalia.khachman@outlook.com

Corresponding Author

Dalia Khachman

Received 19 November 2019, Accepted 14 January 2020, Available Online 13 February 2020.

DOI: 10.2991/dsahmj.k.200206.002 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Gabapentinoids; knowledge; Lebanon; misuse; pharmacists; tramadol
Abstract: Community pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals. Recently, the increasing trend of tramadol and gabapentinoids prescription has become a global problem, with a high risk of misuse and abuse. This study mainly assessed the knowledge and practice of Lebanese pharmacists regarding the use of gabapentinoids and tramadol, and also identified the predictors of knowledge. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 295 Lebanese community pharmacists over a period of 4 months. Data were collected using a questionnaire filled online by the participants. Knowledge scores for tramadol and gabapentinoids together and for each separately were computed and dichotomized into poor and good knowledge. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The mean scores of tramadol and gabapentinoids knowledge individually were 18 ± 7 and 18 ± 6, respectively; 52.9% and 52.5% had good knowledge, whereas 47.1% and 47.5% had poor knowledge concerning these drugs, respectively. Moreover, it was observed that having a master’s degree increases knowledge about tramadol and gabapentinoids by approximately two times. Regarding pharmacists’ practice concerning tramadol and gabapentinoids dispensing, 97.6% and 71.5% of pharmacists, respectively, do not dispense them without prescription. About 43% of pharmacists believe that current governmental regulations are not adequate to control the problem of misuse, with 86.8% citing the need for new laws and better supervision on such drugs to limit their misuse. This study highlighted that pharmacists’ knowledge concerning tramadol and gabapentinoids needs to be improved, reflecting the importance of enrolling pharmacists in continuous learning system.
Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Journal: Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
Volume-Issue: 2 - 1
Pages: 24 - 30
Publication Date: 2020/02/13
ISSN (Online): 2590-3349
ISSN (Print): 2666-819X
DOI: 10.2991/dsahmj.k.200206.002 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Farah Tarhini
AU  - Reem Taky
AU  - Lynne H. Jaffal
AU  - Jinan Kresht
AU  - Gaelle El-Chaer
AU  - Sanaa Awada
AU  - Nathalie Lahoud
AU  - Dalia Khachman
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/02/13
TI  - Awareness of Lebanese Pharmacists towards the Use and Misuse of Gabapentinoids and Tramadol: A Cross-sectional Survey
JO  - Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
SP  - 24
EP  - 30
VL  - 2
IS  - 1
SN  - 2590-3349
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/dsahmj.k.200206.002
DO  - 10.2991/dsahmj.k.200206.002
ID  - Tarhini2020
ER  -

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