The rationality of recommendations of drugs for patients with cephalgia in simulated situations in the pharmacy

Relevance. According to statistics of the World Health Organization, at least half of the world’s adult population experienced headaches at least once a year. Patients suffering from headaches do not always have the opportunity to visit a doctor, therefore, an important role in helping these patients is assigned to pharmacists. Purpose. Based on the pharmacoepidemiological study to identify the features of providing pharmaceutical care to patients with headache in pharmacies in the issue of rationality of recommendations of pharmaceutical workers. Materials and methods. A pharmacoepidemiological study was conducted based on a survey of 153 pharmaceutical workers (Saratov) using a specially developed questionnaire that includes free-form questions with a simulated situation. The data was processed using Microsoft Excel 2010 and STATISTIKA 6.0. Results Of the groups recommended to visitors, INNs in the group «Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic drugs [M01A]» account for 45.0 % of all INNs, and the group «Analgesics [N02]» - 55.0 %. Ibuprofen (62.8 %) and the combination of drotaverine + caffeine + naproxen + paracetamol + phenylephrine (41.2 %) were noted as the most frequently recommended. A visit to a doctor was recommended by the majority of respondents (52.3 %, n=153) in the case of a patient with a headache accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Ibuprofen (90.8 %) or paracetamol (45.8 %), moreover in the form of suspension or suppositories, are the preferred recommendations for headache in children under 3 years of age (n=131). Paracetamol in combinations (69.2 %) prevails as the first recommendation for headache associated with acute respiratory viral infections (n??=146). Non-selective NSAIDs for a patient with gastrointestinal complications could be recommended by 43.4 % of specialists (n=113). The NSAID recommendation is the most frequent (51.8 %, n=110) in the case of an 80-year-old patient without concomitant diseases. Paracetamol (50.0 %) or ibuprofen (34.7 %) would be more often recommended by pharmaceutical workers for a pregnant woman with headache (n=98). In case of headache after trauma, 47.1 % recommend a visit to a doctor (n=153). Conclusion. The frequent recommendation of combined analgesics and their association with the development of drug-induced headaches indicates the need for careful recommendation of these drugs. Not always correct recommendations indicate the need to increase the level of professional knowledge, study clinical recommendations for the therapy and diagnosis of cephalgia, which can make it possible to make a rational choice of the drug, initially assume that the visitor has conditions that require a visit to a doctor, and ultimately improve the quality of pharmaceutical care.