Shall we keep non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs behind the counter ?

الملخص EN

A five hundred and thirty one (531) on the counter (OTC) non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) users, were directly interviewed by pre-structured questionares.

The study was conducted at Rheumatology and rehabilitation unit of Merjan teaching hospital in period from March 2008 to August 2008.

The items of pre-structured questionare, measures the knowledge and the attitude of patients toward the use of these medications.

The results showed that most of studied users were not using these agents correctly and frequently ignore the potential adverse effects.

Lack of knowledge of most of users, and lack of direct or labeled instructions were considered the corner stone for abusing these hazardous agents.