The Trend of Tramadol Vending in Retail Pharmacies and Negative Impact of Abusing Drug on its Purchasers in Mosul City, Iraq

Authors

  • Radhwan Abdul Majeed Al-Tuhafy Ibn- Sena Teaching Hospital
  • Dhilal Ahmad Deab Al-Juymail Al-Khansaa Teaching Hospital

Keywords:

tramadol, drug abuse, dependence, pharmacy, Mosul, Iraq

Abstract

Since 1998 tramadol was introduced to the Iraqi markets as a nonscheduled centrally acting analgesic with low abuse potential. Many patients (or customers on their behalf) purchased the drug from retail pharmacies without medical prescription which may raise a strong need to investigate the suspicion of potential trmadol abuse among those customers who visited those pharmacies in Mosul which is one of the biggest cities in north Iraq.

Methodology: Under the supervision of the pharmacists in ten retail pharmacies (which were selected randomly from different areas in Mosul), a closed-ended questionnaire constructed by the researches and designed to detect the trends of purchasing tramadol from private pharmacies besides the International Neuropsychiatric Intervew version-5(module L), were filled out for every patient or (someone on their behalf) who purchased tramadol from those pharmacies during six months period (June 2012-December 2012). Sociodemographic characters of the purchasers were obtained in this study and subjected to descriptive statistics to make comparison with other studies.

Results: Of 163 patients or (someone purchased the drug on their behalf) who seek tramadol from the pharmacies, 84 (51.53%) purchasers did not have prescription. About 98(60.12%) patients reported abuse or addiction criterias on tramadol after interviewing them through M.I.N.I. international neuropsychiatric interview version- 5.  Most of the purchasers were males and females below thirty (73.3%, 74.1% consecutively). Participants who were unemployed (83.9%), singles (92.6%) were aging below thirty. Approximately (60%) of the patients reported a history of addiction or drug abuse.  Most of the patients with no prescription(46%) had abuse criteria on tramadol.

Conclusion: Patients who request tramadol from private pharmacies in Mosul seem to have a high potential for drug abuse, dependence, in particular those who do not have prescriptions. The high prevalence of people under 30 years of age seeking tramadol could be a worldwide trend. Construction of detoxification units is highly recommended in Mosul.

 

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Published

2013-12-13

How to Cite

Al-Tuhafy, R. A. M., & Al-Juymail, D. A. D. (2013). The Trend of Tramadol Vending in Retail Pharmacies and Negative Impact of Abusing Drug on its Purchasers in Mosul City, Iraq. Asian Journal of Pharmacy, Nursing and Medical Sciences, 1(4). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJPNMS/article/view/632