• Saeed Alfadly, Mohammed Anaam, Sulaiman Ibrahim Alzunaydi, Abdulsalam Sulaiman Almutlaq, Abdulaziz Mohammed Swidan, Saud Alsahali, Yasser Almogbel, Mohammed Alshammari, Mohammed Almunef, and Khalid Siddeeg.
• Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.
• Patient Prefer Adher. 2024 Jan 1; 18: 145114611451-1461.

ObjectiveThe study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and counseling skills of community pharmacy professionals regarding managing acute diarrhea in children in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study consisting of a questionnaire and simulated client scenario was conducted to collect data from pharmacy professionals working in community pharmacies over a period of 3 months in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Pharmacy professionals were assessed for evaluating cases using 5 indicators (the age of the child, the frequency of diarrhea, fever and the presence of mucus or blood) and also for their recommendations and counseling.ResultsThe data were collected from 60 pharmacy professionals after site visits. In the questionnaire, 60% of the pharmacy professionals used all 5 indicators, while in the simulation, 13.3% used at least 3 indicators and 80% used 2 or fewer indicators (p = 0.35). An oral rehydration solution was recommended alone by 35% of the pharmacy professionals and with other drugs by 13.3% in the questionnaire, while in the simulation, an oral rehydration solution alone was recommended by 15% and other drugs by 48.3%. Approximately 86.7% of the pharmacy professionals did not give any dietary advice, and 50% did not counsel the simulated client on the recommended drug.ConclusionThe community pharmacy professionals in the study did not ask enough questions to evaluate a child suffering from acute diarrhea appropriately in the simulation. More questions were asked in the questionnaire; however, the difference is not significant. Additionally, they did not provide proper dietary advice, and their recommendation of an oral rehydration solution was insufficient.© 2024 Alfadly et al.

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