Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1016/j.homp.2014.04.001
Management of the early symptoms of influenza-like illnesses and ear, nose and throat (ENT) disorders by pharmacists
Subject Editor:
Publication History
Received06 December 2013
revised17 February 2014
accepted17 April 2014
Publication Date:
19 December 2017 (online)
Background: Pharmacists play a key role in primary healthcare, but the characteristics of patients who consult a pharmacist directly rather than going to their general practitioner (GP) are unknown. Our aim was to describe the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who seek direct therapeutic advice from a pharmacist for influenza-like illness (ILI) or ear, nose and throat (ENT) disorders, the types of medicines dispensed and patient satisfaction with the advice received.
Methods: This prospective, observational study was carried out on a random sample of French pharmacies between November 2010 and March 2011. Patients (≥12-years) with early symptoms of ILI or ENT disorders (<36 h duration) who received treatment were included. Socio-demographic data, symptom severity and disease impact on daily activities and sleep were recorded at inclusion. Symptom evolution and patient satisfaction were assessed after 3 days of treatment.
Results: 573 patients (mean age: 42.5 ± 16.2 years; 61.9% female) were recruited by 133 pharmacies. Two-thirds of patients (63.2%) visited the pharmacy early (<24 h) after symptom onset. The most common symptoms were runny nose (56.4%), sore throat (54.6%) and cough (49.0%). Patients were given 2.6 ± 1.2 medications; 98.4% of patients received allopathic (usually paracetamol, 33.5%) and 25.3% homeopathic (Oscillococcinum, 56.6%) treatment, usually combined with allopathy. Compliance was good and 77.2% of patients continued treatment for 3 days. Most symptoms improved significantly after 3 days and quality of life was enhanced. 85.9% of patients were satisfied with the advice received.
Conclusions: Seeking a pharmacist's advice for the management of ILI and ENT disorders has several public health benefits. The clinical improvement and high patient satisfaction observed validate the role of the pharmacist as a health professional of first resort.
-
References
- 1 LOI n° 2009-879 du 21 juillet 2009 portant réforme de l'hôpital et relative aux patients, à la santé et aux territoires. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000020879475&categorieLien=id (last accessed 16/09/12).
- 2 Arrêté du 4 mai 2012 portant approbation de la convention nationale organisant les rapports entre les pharmaciens titulaires d'officine et l'assurance maladie – 6 mai 2012. www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000025804248 (last accessed 04/09/12).
- 3 Ministère des Affaires Sociales et de la Santé. Décrets, arrêtés, circulaires. Textes Généraux. http://www.sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/IASS_ext_int.pdf (last accessed 04/04/14).
- 4 Etude PHR/IFOP, Les Français et le système de santé, Octobre 2011, par questionnaire auto-administré en ligne (CAWI – Computer Assisted Web Interviewing), selon la méthode des quotas, auprès d'un échantillon de 1 005 personnes représentatif de la population française âgée de 18 ans et plus. www.ifop.com/?option=com_publication&;type=pol&id=1464 (last accessed 04/09/12).
- 5 Eccles R. An explanation for the seasonality of acute upper respiratory tract viral infections. Acta Otolaryngol 2002; 122: 183-191.
- 6 Grimaldi-Bensouda L., Begaud B., Lert F. et al., for the EPI3-LASER Group. Benchmarking the burden of 100 diseases: results of a nationwide representative survey within general practices. BMJ Open 2011; Nov 14 01 (02) pii:e000215.
- 7 Nichol K.L., D'Heilly S.J., Greenberg M.E. et al. Burden of influenza-like illness and effectiveness of influenza vaccination among working adults aged 50–64 years. Clin Infect Dis 2009; 48: 292-298.
- 8 Keech M., Scott A.J., Ryan P.J. The impact of influenza and influenza-like illness on productivity and healthcare resource utilization in a working population. Occup Med (Lond) 1998; 48: 85-90.
- 9 Emergence des bactéries multi-résistantes: importance renforcée du bon usage des antibiotiques. Document à destination des professionnels de santé. Novembre 2010. www.ansm.sante.fr/var/ansm/_site/storage/original/application9d362917f68e27328483ab1320f1bed7.pdf (last accessed 04/09/12).
- 10 L'antibiotique, un médicament pas comme les autres. Document à destination des professionnels de santé. Novembre 2009. www.//ansm.sante.fr/Dossiers-thematiques/Antibiotiques/Bien-utiliser-les-antibiotiques/(offset)/1 (last accessed 06/09/12).
- 11 Patterson C.A., Mackson J.M., Weekes L.M. Antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory-tract infections in primary care. Commun Dis Intell 27 Suppl 2003; S39-S41.
- 12 Fagnan L.J. Prescribing antibiotics for upper respiratory infections. J Fam Pract 2000; 49: 5.
- 13 Plan nationale d'alerte sur les antibiotiques 2011–2016. Novembre 2011. www.sante.gouv.fr/plan-national-d-alerte-sur-les-antibiotiques-2011-2016.html (last accessed 04/09/12).
- 14 Antibiotherapie par voie generale en pratique courante dans les infections respiratoires hautes d'adulte et l'enfant. Recommendations de bonne pratique. Novembre 2011. www.infectologie.com/site/medias/Recos/2011/-infections-respir-hautes-recommendations.pdf (last accessed 04/09/12).
- 15 Institut de Recerche et Documentation en Economie de la Sante (IRDES). Medical demography in France 2009.
- 16 http://www.ordre.pharmacien.fr/Communications/Rapports-Publications-ordinales/Les-pharmaciens-Panorama-au-1er-janvier-2013.
- 17 Borneman J.P., Field R.I. Regulation of homeopathic drug products. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2006; 63: 86-91.
- 18 Vincent S., Demonceaux A., Deswarte D., Scimeca D., Bordet M.F. Etude SPIRALEEtude SPIRALE: prise en charge du syndrome grippal en médecine générale dans le contexte 2009 en France; place de l'homéopathie. Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 2011; 59S: S98-S99.
- 19 Guide on Methodological Standards in Pharmacoepidemiology (The European Network of Centres for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacovigilance (ENCePP)). http://www.encepp.eu/standards_and_guidances/documents/ENCePPGuideofMethStandardsinPE.pdf (last accessed 05/09/12).
- 20 Les régions IDREM. Available from: http://www.marketing-pme.fr/downloads/VadeMarketum2009-2010.pdf (page 267) (last accessed 02/09/13).
- 21 Concato J., Peduzzi P., Holford T.R., Feinstein A.R. Importance of events per independent variable in proportional hazards analysis. I. Background, goals and general strategy. J Clin Epidemiol 1995; 48: 1495-1501.
- 22 Ferley J.P., Zmirou D., D'Adhemar D., Balducci F. A controlled evaluation of a homoeopathic preparation in the treatment of influenza-like syndromes. Br J Clin Pharmacol 1987; 27: 329-335.
- 23 Auffret M., Rolland B., Deheul S. et al. Involvement of pharmacists in systems for supervising off-label medications: Example of the CAMTEA system for the prescription of baclofen in alcohol use disorder in Northern France. [English Abstract, Journal Article] Ann Pharm Fr 2014; 72: 28-32.
- 24 Bertille N., Fournier-Charrière E., Pons G., Chalumeau M. Managing fever in children: a national survey of parents' knowledge and practices in France. PLoS ONE. December 31 2013.
- 25 Chui M.A., Stone J.A., Martin B.A., Croes K.D., Thorpe J.M. Safeguarding older adults from inappropriate over-the-counter medications: the role of community pharmacists. Gerontologist 2013. Nov 6. [Epub ahead of print].
- 26 Morimoto Y., Harada S., Nakamoto K., Tokuyama S. The survey for pharmacist in community pharmacy concerning the usefullness of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) in self-medication and the state of sales of products for ORT. Yakugaku Zasshi 2013; 133: 1243-1248.
- 27 Ragland D., Payakachat N., Stafford R.A. Emergency contraception counseling in a retail pharmacy setting: a pilot study. J Pharm Pract 2014. Jan 15. [Epub ahead of print].
- 28 Influenza-like illness. Reseau Sentinelles. http://websenti.u707.jussieu.fr/sentiweb/2065.pdf (last accessed 23/2/2012). European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN).
- 29 European Center for Disease Prevention and Control; [cited 2012]; Available from: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/activities/surveillance/EISN/surveillance/pages/influenza_case_definitions.aspx (last accessed 05/09/12).
- 30 Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé. Systemic antibiotic treatment in upper and lower respiratory tract infections: official French guidelines. Clin Microbiol Infect 2003; 9: 1162-1178.
- 31 Eccles R. Efficacy and safety of over the counter analgesics in the treatment of the common cold and flu. J Clin Pharmacol 2006; 31: 309-319.
- 32 Cornilleau G., Debrand T. Crise et déficit de l'assurance maladie: Faut-il changer de paradigme?. Rev OFCE 2011; 116: 315-332.