A Cross-Sectional study on the quality and safety of weak opioid prescriptions in community pharmacies in Kayes, Mali

• Author Details:   
• Mahamadou Ballo ^*
• Karim Traore
• Mahamadou Dit Fodié Diefaga
• Moussa Lougue
• Sékou Bah

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Background: Pain is one of the most common symptoms encountered in clinical practice and accounts for approximately two-thirds of all medical consultations. Depending on its intensity, pain is managed with analgesics of appropriate potency.
Objective: This study aimed to analyze the prescription patterns of weak opioids in community pharmacies in the city of Kayes.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted across 12 community pharmacies over a six-month period from July to December 2024.
Results: A total of 357 medical prescriptions containing weak opioids were included. The over-45 age group was the most frequent, with 105 prescriptions. The average number of drugs per prescription was 3.98. Illegible prescriptions accounted for 13.16% (n=47). With regard to the pharmacography of the drugs prescribed, the dosage was not mentioned on 76.19% (n=272) of the prescriptions. The duration of treatment were not indicated on 98.32% (n=357) of prescriptions. Tramadol was the most prescribed step 2 analgesic at 55.74% (n=199). However, 36.13% (n=129) of prescriptions contained at least one drug interaction, including 12 contraindicated associations. Moreover, 5.32% (n=19) and 2.52% (n=9) of prescriptions contained at least one high-dose drug and one drug not required.
Conclusion: Overall, the average number of medications per prescription was high, and a significant number of prescriptions were illegible. The most frequent and serious prescribing errors were the omission of treatment duration and the use of contraindicated drug combinations.