The outbreak of COVID-19 may differentially exacerbate anxiety and stress in people subjected to the real or perceived threat of the virus. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out to assess the general population's psychological response during the initial state of the outbreak in Saudi Arabia. The study used brief screening tools PHQ-4 for anxiety-depression symptoms and IES-6 for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Among the 584 respondents, 19.8% and 22.0% reported moderate to severe anxiety and depression symptoms respectively. According to the combined PHQ-4 score, 14.5% of participants showed moderate to severe anxiety or depression disorder. Overall, 64.8% met the level of clinical concern for posttraumatic stress disorder and 51.3% met the level of probable posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis. Multivariate analyses showed that females, non-Saudi nationalities, and those who had a history of mental illness were more vulnerable to anxiety and depression disorders than their counterparts, whereas a higher prevalence of distress symptoms was reported among those who prefer Arabic over English for communication. It was found that people whose colleagues or family infected with the disease were more likely to report moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety or depression and distress. The study further showed that the higher the perceived threat, the higher the chances of exhibiting anxiety-depressive disorder symptoms and distress symptoms. The findings might be a matter for serious concern, and considerable attention is required from authorities and policymakers regarding early detection and treatment of these illnesses in order to reduce the burden of the pandemic related mental illness.

Antibiotics resistance is a serious problem around the world, which has been increasing in the last century due to misuse of antibiotics. Recently, Saudi Arabia enforced the Executive Regulations of Health Practice Law that prohibits dispensing antibiotics without prescription. (1) To assess the association between the knowledge and attitude toward the recent enforcement of the antibiotic restriction Law and the antibiotic use among Saudi population.(2) To assess the pattern of antibiotic use before and after the enforcement of the Law. An online cross-sectional study was conducted among residents of Saudi Arabia. The study was carried out among 570 Saudi participants; the result shows no considerable difference before and after law enforcement in purchasing and use of antibiotics. During the six months before the law implementation, antibiotics were obtained by 42 (7%) through purchase from the pharmacy without a prescription, 23 (4%) through remains of previously used containers, and 7 (1%) through a relative or a friend; while during the six months after the law implementation it was 31 (5%), 22 (4%) and 7 (1%), respectively. Only 48% agreed that they always received advice from a doctor, nurse or pharmacist on how to use your antibiotics. 32% have no knowledge about antibiotic resistance or drug resistance or antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More than two third (75%) were aware of the recent enforcement of the law that prohibits dispensing antibiotics without prescription. Among the participants, 91 (16%), 285 (50%) and 194 (34%) were expressed negative, neutral and positive attitude towards the law, respectively. In spite of the recent enforcement of the Law, there is still misuse of antibiotics, which indicate need for educational programs and campaigns to improve the knowledge of the population.

This study aimed to assess public knowledge about medicine information, safety, and adverse drug reaction reporting (ADR) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. A cross sectional study was conducted using purposive stratified sampling in different settings of Dammam city for three months (January–March 2020). The target population was identified as consumers who had used the medicines in the last 3 months. The questionnaire was adopted from the literature and was validated. Content and face validities were established, and reliability was assessed. The study was approved by the concerned ethics committee. A total of 915 participants returned completed questionnaires. A total of 54.4% participants aged between 18 and 30 years, 65.8% were females and 53.1% had obtained bachelor level education. The mean score for knowledge of medicines (K1) was 5.46 ± 1.07. The mean score for knowledge regarding medication safety (K2) was 5.94 ± 1.73. The mean score for tendency to report a suspected ADR (T1) was 3.43 ± 1.57. Gender was a determinant of knowledge regarding medication safety (K2) (p < 0.01) and ADR reporting tendency (T1) (p < 0.01). The marital status of patients was a determinant for both knowledge of medicines (K1) (p < 0.01) and, knowledge regarding medication safety (K2) (p < 0.01). The results of this study highlighted that although the scores for knowledge of medicines, and tendency to report ADR were better, the score for knowledge regarding medication safety was unsatisfactory.

Since the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic, most countries started treating their patients with various therapies. However, the data regarding their safety and effectiveness is still lacking. We aimed to evaluate the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) incidence and their predisposing factors among COVID-19 patients. A retrospective observational study that was conducted at a tertiary academic hospital from March – June 2020. Patients were included if they were ≥ 18 years old, inpatient, had a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for COVID-19, and were treated with; (lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, favipiravir, ribavirin, or interferon-ß) either as monotherapy or combination therapy for three days or longer. The data of eligible patients were retrieved from the electronic medical records. A standardized data collection form was designed to collect patient demographics, COVID-19 severity based on the Saudi Ministry of Health management protocols, antiviral therapies, duration of therapy, and length of stay (LOS). The ADRs were identified via conducting a comprehensive review using predefined triggers and were evaluated using Naranjo Score. A total of 155 patients were included of which 123 (79.4%) were males. In our sample, the incidence proportion of ADRs per patient was 72.3%. A total of 287 ADRs were identified most of them were hepatic (n = 101, 35.2%), gastrointestinal (n = 59, 20.6%), hematological (n = 47, 16%), and endocrine (n = 45, 15%). Hydroxychloroquine was the most common drug associated with ADRs (n = 155). The length of stay (10 – 20 days) was the only statistically significant with the ADR incidence (p-value = 0.008; 95 %CI 1.216:3.568). The ADRs are prevalent among COVID-19 patients, which assure the importance of implementing active hospital-based pharmacovigilance systems.

Introduction: Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is identified as a group of services provided to the patient in order to optimize the medication use in order to mitigate adverse drug reactions (ADRs), drug–drug interaction (DDI), and polypharmacy. Elderly populations above 60 years old are at high risk for Medication-related Problems (MRPs) due to several factors. Therefore, MTM programs showed good contributions globally regarding enhancing medication use in the elderly population. Thus, evident information regarding its implementation in Saudi Arabia is lacking in the literature. Objective: Our objective is to assess community pharmacists’ knowledge, attitude, and barriers to providing MTM services to the older adult population in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study has been conducted among community pharmacists across the Kingdom. It was survey-based research that was designed and conducted through (QuestionPro). The survey was distributed for the community pharmacists from Feb–May 2023 via (QuestionPro). Descriptive analysis was performed using SAS OnDemand to analyze the categorical variables and test it with the outcome of interest. Results: Out of the 528 participants who have viewed our questionnaire, 319 participants have completed the survey in 5 min average time. Most of our participants were male, holding a bachelor’s degree, and had an average working load of more than 40 h a week, respectively (84.95%, 92.48%, and 76.18%). In addition, the participants were from different regions of the Kingdom, which enhanced the generalizability of our findings. Moreover, 65.52% have reported a higher level of knowledge, while 34.48% have reported a moderate to low level of knowledge regarding MTM service. Most of those with a higher level of knowledge maintain a positive attitude regarding MTM service, its implementation, and dealing with older adult patients in the community pharmacy. In addition, lacking the time, training, and presence of a private consultation room were the top barriers to provide MTM services in the community pharmacy in Saudi Arabia. Conclusion: Educational sessions regarding MTM services among the older adult population are highly recommended for community pharmacists before its implementation.

Pharmaceutical expenditure has been a major concern for decision-makers worldwide. One strategy to control medication costs involves applying pharmacoeconomic (PE) methods in the approval and listing of new medications. Pharmacists need to possess the knowledge, skill, and competence to analyse and implement PE study findings. This study aimed to evaluate the predictors of pharmacy professionals’ knowledge and awareness towards PE and their ability to apply its concepts. Furthermore, this study sought to identify the barriers to the practical application of PE. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2022 and June 2023. A chi-square test was employed to examine the associations between dependent and independent variables while multiple binary logistic regression was performed to identify predictors of PE knowledge and awareness. A total of 204 pharmacists were included. The mean age was 29.34 years (SD: 6.45) and 75.5%of participants were male. Of the participants, 46.6% held a bachelor’s degree. A total of 81.4% were aware of PEs and 65.2% exhibited low knowledge levels. Around 60% of participants agreed to all the questions concerning the pharmacists’ attitudes towards PE. Females were 2.6 times more likely than males to have good PE knowledge (AOR = 2.62, p < 0.01). Participants aged 26–35 and those over 36 were 2.6 times (AOR = 2.6, p < 0.05) and 2.8 times (AOR = 2.83, p < 0.01) more likely to have good knowledge than those under 25, respectively. This study highlighted a gap in the knowledge, and ability to apply PE concepts in practice. Key predictors such as being aged 30 or older, having longer years of work experience, and holding advanced pharmacy degrees were linked to higher levels of PE knowledge, positive attitudes, and awareness and enhanced the ability to apply PE concept. Future research should assess the effectiveness of PE courses offered in pharmacy colleges across Saudi Arabia.