Pattern of pharmaceutical retailing of anti-diabetic products in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Twenty-four pharmacists in the city of Ibadan were surveyed through a self-administered structured questionnaire as to the extent of their involvement in the pharmaceutical retailing of antidiabetic products and their cost. Oral hypoglycemic agents especially, chlorpropamide (Diabenese) and glibenclamide (Daonil) were the most readily available drugs being obtainable from 21 (87.5%) pharmacies. Insulin was stocked regularly by only 14 (58.3%) of the pharmacists and insulin syringes and needles could be obtained from only 10 (41.6%) of the pharmacies. Among materials for urine testing, clinistix strip was the most readily available and fully one-third of the pharmacies did not stock any such material. The prices of all the products were disturbingly high and between 1983 and 1986 when retail prices were re-assessed, the cost of some materials had escalated by as much as 400%. Scarcity of antidiabetic products and their high cost pose serious challenges for those involved in the care of diabetic patients in Nigeria. Some suggestions have been made as to what steps both the government and the pharmaceutical industry can take in ensuring the availability of these life sustaining products for the increasingly large Nigerian diabetic population.
Famuyiwa
O O
OO
Dept. of Medicine, College of Medicine, K.K.U.H., Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000592:standards*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D007328:Insulin / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009549:Nigeria; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin