Analysis of awareness of pharmacists and students of pharmacy faculties about antibiotic-associated diarrhea and methods of its prevention

Authors

  • Yu. V. Verkhovodova National University of Pharmacy of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5047-375X
  • B. O. Dolyna National University of Pharmacy of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24959/sphhcj.25.368

Keywords:

antibiotics; antibiotic-associated diarrhea; awareness; sociological survey; probiotics; pharmacists

Abstract

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is a common complication of antibiotic therapy that requires timely prevention and high-quality pharmaceutical care to prevent dysbiotic disorders, digestive disorders, and pseudomembranous colitis.

Aim. To determine the level of awareness of practicing pharmacists and senior students of pharmacy faculties about antibiotic-associated diarrhea, methods of its prevention, and the main approaches to providing proper pharmaceutical care.

Materials and methods. The study was based on the results of an online survey conducted between November 1 and 29, 2024, among pharmacists and senior students, and it aimed to determine the average level of knowledge about the etiopathogenesis, prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and identify topics that were most difficult to understand or require additional training. The methods used included sociological surveys, comparative analysis, graphical analysis, and analytical and generalizing analysis.

Results and discussion. A total of 80 respondents participated in the survey. Of them, 50 % worked as pharmacists; 12.5 % were not employed in a pharmacy at the time of the study; and 37.5 % worked as pharmacy assistants or intern pharmacists. At the same time, 37.5 % of respondents had less than a year of experience, 25 % already worked from one and five years, 25 % worked for more than five years, and 12.5 % had no experience; the latter group consisted of students from the Pharmacy Faculty. The analysis of the respondents’ self-assessment of their knowledge indicates a lack of awareness of the mechanisms of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, modern approaches to its prevention and the rational choice of accompanying agents, particularly probiotics, prebiotics and enterosorbents. The respondents mainly emphasized the importance of studying the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, in particular among students of the Pharmacy Faculty.

Conclusions. It has been determined that antibiotic-associated diarrhea is a relevant issue for pharmaceutical professionals since patients regularly visit pharmacies with related queries. A survey of pharmaceutical workers of various skill levels and work experience has shown that most respondents are aware of the importance of this issue and the need to improve their knowledge of its treatment and prevention. The results obtained confirm the importance of expanding and deepening the study of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in pharmacy faculty education programs, in order to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care for patients.

References

  1. Dionne, B., Wagner, J. L., Chastain, D. B., Rosenthal, M., Mahoney, M. V., & Bland, C. M. (2022). Which pharmacists are performing antimicrobial stewardship: A national survey and a call for collaborative efforts. Antimicrobial Stewardship Healthcare Epidemiology, 2(1), e24. https://doi.org/10.1017/ash.2021.245
  2. Kotvitska, A. A., & Volkova, A. V. (2025). Rozroblennia pidkhodiv shchodo systemnoho formuvannia navychok z farmatsevtychnoi hramotnosti naselennia [Development of approaches to the systematic formation of pharmaceutical literacy skills among the population]. Sotsialna farmatsiia v okhoroni zdorovia, 11(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.24959/sphhcj.25.344
  3. Lee, Y., & Bradley, N. (2023). Antimicrobial Stewardship Practices in a Subset of Community Pharmacies across the United States. Pharmacy, 11(1), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy11010026
  4. Goodman, C., Keating, G., Georgousopoulou, E., Hespe, C., & Levett, K. (2021). Probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 11(8), e043054. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043054
  5. Wang, L., Guo, G., Xu, Y., Li, L., Yang, B., Zhao, D., Tian, H., Ye, C., Lin, Z., Cui, J., Li, N., Huang, L., & Chen, Q. (2024). The effect of fecal microbiota transplantation on antibiotic-associated diarrhea and its impact on gut microbiota. BMC Microbiology, 24(1), 160. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-024-03261-0
  6. Kompendium: Likarski preparaty Ukrainy [Compendium: Pharmaceuticals of Ukraine]. https://compendium.com.ua/uk/
  7. Skrypnyk, I. M., & Prykhodko, N. P. (2021). Antybiotykoasotsiiovana diareia: rol probiotykiv u likuvanni ta profilaktytsi [Antibiotic-associated diarrhea: the role of probiotics in treatment and prevention]. Ukrainskyi Medychnyi Chasopys, 2(142), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.32471/umj.1680-3051.142.203410
  8. Nkemdirim Okere, A., Pinto, A. R., & Suther, S. (2024). Knowledge and attitudes of patients in underserved communities regarding antibiotic resistance, antibiotic stewardship, and pharmacist involvement in antibiotic prescribing: A regional survey. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 82(2), 2900–2907. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxae341
  9. Gillani, S. W., Shahwan, M. K. S., & Szollosi, D. E. (2023). A questionnaire based survey among pharmacy practitioners to evaluate the level of knowledge and confidence towards antimicrobial stewardship. Pharmacy Practice, 21(1), 01-09. https://doi.org/10.18549/pharmpract.2023.1.2757
  10. Fajnzylber, J., Patterson, W., & Deshpande, A. (2023). Probiotics for primary prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection: revisiting the evidence. Current medical research and opinion, 39(6), 889–891. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007995.2023.2205333
  11. Biasucci, G., Capra, M. E., Giudice, A., Monopoli, D., Stanyevic, B., Rotondo, R., Mucci, A., Neglia, C., Campana, B., & Esposito, S. (2025). Use of Probiotics During Antibiotic Therapy in Pediatrics: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Italian Primary Care Pediatricians. Antibiotics, 14(6), 577. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14060577
  12. Mufwambi, W., Musuku, K., Hangoma, J., Muzondo, N. V., Mweetwa, L., & Mudenda, S. (2024). Community pharmacists’ knowledge and practices towards antimicrobial stewardship: findings and implications. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance, 6(5), dlae176. https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlae176
  13. Wanyama, H., Akhtar, T. S., & Abbas, S. (2025). Probiotic use reduces the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea among adult patients: a meta-analysis. Gastroenterology Review, 20(1), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.5114/pg.2025.148486
  14. Dong, D., Su, T., Chen, W., Wang, D., Xue, Y., Lu, Q., Jiang, C., Ni, Q., Mao, E., & Peng, Y. (2023). Clostridioides difficile aggravates dextran sulfate solution (DSS)-induced colitis by shaping the gut microbiota and promoting neutrophil recruitment. Gut Microbes, 15(1), 2192478. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2023.2192478
  15. Abernathy-Close, L., Barron, M. R., George, J. M., Dieterle, M. G., Vendrov, K. C., Bergin, I. L., & Young, V. B. (2021). Intestinal Inflammation and Altered Gut Microbiota Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Render Mice Susceptible to Clostridioides difficile Colonization and Infection. ASM Journals, 12(3), 13. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02733-20
  16. Ritter, D. M., Flaver, R., Henderson, H., Louk, Yu. K., Makiuen, D., & Ranh, H. F. (2021). Farmakolohiia za Ranhom i Deilom (9-te vyd.). [Pharmacology according to Rank and Dale]. Medytsyna.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-31

How to Cite

Verkhovodova, Y. V. ., & Dolyna, B. O. . (2025). Analysis of awareness of pharmacists and students of pharmacy faculties about antibiotic-associated diarrhea and methods of its prevention. Social Pharmacy in Health Care, 11(4), 64–72. https://doi.org/10.24959/sphhcj.25.368

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Organizational and socio-economic bases of pharmaceutical activities

License

Copyright (c) 2026 National University of Pharmacy

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.