Knowledge of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis Characteristics, Signs, Symptoms, and Appropriate Treatment Among Portuguese Pharmacy Professionals.

IF 2.7 4区医学 Q2 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES Healthcare Pub Date : 2025-02-13 DOI:10.3390/healthcare13040402

Tiago Oliveira, Ângelo Jesus, João P Martins, Patrícia Correia, Fernando Moreira

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Abstract

Background/objectives: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common cause of vaginitis. Over-the-counter drugs are usually dispensed by pharmacy professionals to treat this condition without prior medical consultation. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge of Portuguese pharmacy professionals regarding VVC.

Methods: An online questionnaire including questions about the symptoms and treatment of VVC was distributed between March and April of 2024.

Results: A total of 376 professionals participated in this study. There was a significantly lower proportion of men (p = 0.007) and pharmacy technicians (p = 0.005) who correctly identified the main causative agent of VVC when compared to women and pharmacists. Only 30% of women correctly identified the number of VVC episodes in the same year they classified as complicated, but this was significantly higher (p = 0.038) than the proportion of men who identified complicated VVC (20%). Topical clotrimazole preparations were the more frequently identified medicines for the treatment of uncomplicated VVC, and fluconazole-containing medicines were the preferred choice for the treatment of complicated VVC.

Conclusions: This study highlights the need to improve education and training for pharmacy professionals. By addressing these knowledge gaps, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can provide more accurate and effective advice to patients.

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葡萄牙药学专业人员对外阴阴道念珠菌病特征、体征、症状和适当治疗的了解。

背景/目的：外阴阴道念珠菌病（VVC）是阴道炎的常见原因。非处方药通常由药房专业人员配发来治疗这种情况，而无需事先咨询医生。本研究旨在评估葡萄牙药学专业人员关于VVC的知识。方法：于2024年3 - 4月在线发放VVC症状及治疗问题问卷。结果：共有376名专业人员参与了本研究。男性（p = 0.007）和药学技术人员（p = 0.005）正确识别VVC主要致病因子的比例明显低于女性和药师。在同一年，只有30%的女性正确识别出她们归类为复杂的VVC发作次数，但这明显高于男性识别出复杂VVC的比例（p = 0.038）。外用克霉唑制剂是治疗非复杂性VVC的常用药物，含氟康唑药物是治疗复杂性VVC的首选药物。结论：本研究强调了加强药学专业人员教育和培训的必要性。通过解决这些知识差距，药剂师和药学技术人员可以向患者提供更准确和有效的建议。

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来源期刊

Healthcare Medicine-Health Policy

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

7.10%

发文量

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032) is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal (free for readers), which publishes original theoretical and empirical work in the interdisciplinary area of all aspects of medicine and health care research. Healthcare publishes Original Research Articles, Reviews, Case Reports, Research Notes and Short Communications. We encourage researchers to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. For theoretical papers, full details of proofs must be provided so that the results can be checked; for experimental papers, full experimental details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced. Additionally, electronic files or software regarding the full details of the calculations, experimental procedure, etc., can be deposited along with the publication as “Supplementary Material”.