References
Abasaeed, A., Vlcek, J., Abuelkhair, M., & K. A. (2009). Self-medication with antibiotics by the community of Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 3(7), 491–497.
Abood, E. A., & Wazaify, M. (2016). Abuse and misuse of prescription and nonprescription drugs from community pharmacies in Aden City—Yemen. Substance Use & Misuse, 51(7), 942–947. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2016.1155619.
Abood, E., Scott, J., Wazaify, M., Abood, E. A., Scott, J., & Wazaify, M. (2018). User experiences of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse in Aden City, Yemen. Pharmacy, 6(3), 99. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6030099.
Al-Husseini, A., Wazaify, M., & Van Hout, M. C. (2018). Pregabalin misuse and abuse in Jordan: a qualitative study of user experiences. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 16(3), 642–654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-017-9813-4.
Al-Shibani, N., Hamed, A., Labban, N., Al-Kattan, R., Al-Otaibi, H., & Alfadda, S. (2017). Knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotic use and misuse among adults in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal, 38(10), 1038–1044. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2017.10.19887.
Alblooshi, H., Hulse, G. K., El Kashef, A., Al Hashmi, H., Shawky, M., Al Ghaferi, H., et al. (2016). The pattern of substance use disorder in the United Arab Emirates in 2015: results of a National Rehabilitation Centre cohort study. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 11(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-016-0062-5.
Albsoul-Younes, A., Wazaify, M., Yousef, A. M., & Tahaineh, L. (2010). Abuse and misuse of prescription and nonprescription drugs sold in community pharmacies in Jordan. Substance Use and Misuse, 45(9), 1319–1329. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826080802490683.
Ashique, K. T., Kaliyadan, F., Mohan, S., Vijayan, S., & C. D. (2018). Knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding topical corticosteroids in a sample of pharmacy students: a cross-sectional survey. Indian Dermatology Online Journal, 9(6), 432–434.
Bahnassi, A. (2015). A qualitative analysis of pharmacists’ attitudes and practices regarding the sale of antibiotics without prescription in Syria. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 10(2), 227–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2014.09.001.
Barah, F., Morris, J., & Gonçalves, V. (2009). Irrational use and poor public beliefs regarding antibiotics in developing countries: a pessimistic example of Syria. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 63(8), 1263–1264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-1241.2009.02093.x.
Bassiony, M. M., Salah El-Deen, G. M., Yousef, U., Raya, Y., Abdel-Ghani, M. M., El-Gohari, H., & Atwa, S. A. (2015). Adolescent tramadol use and abuse in Egypt. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 41(3), 206–211. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2015.1014959.
Bramness, J. G., Furu, K., Engeland, A., & Skurtveit, S. (2007). Carisoprodol use and abuse in Norway. A pharmacoepidemiological study. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 64(2), 210–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2007.02847.x.
Casati, A., Sedefov, R., & Pfeiffer-Gerschel, T. (2012). Misuse of medicines in the European Union: a systematic review of the literature. European Addiction Research, 18(5), 228–245. https://doi.org/10.1159/000337028.
Dardas, L. A., Silva, S. G., Smoski, M. J., Noonan, D., & Simmons, L. A. (2018). The prevalence of depressive symptoms among Arab adolescents: findings from Jordan. Public Health Nursing, 35(2), 100–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12363.
Fass, J. A. (2010). Carisoprodol legal status and patterns of abuse. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 44(12), 1962–1967. https://doi.org/10.1345/aph.1P339.
Hamze, M., Osman, M., Achkar, M., Mallat, H., & D. F. (2016). Alarming increase in the prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections associated with a high level of antibiotic resistance in Tripoli, Lebanon. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 48(5), 576–577.
Hanna, F. (2017). Alcohol and substance use in humanitarian and post-conflict situations. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 23(3), 231–235 Retrieved from http://www.embase.com/search/results?subaction=viewrecord&from=export&id=L615983122. Accessed 5 Aug 2019.
Häsler, R., Kautz, C., Rehman, A., Podschun, R., Gassling, V., Brzoska, P., et al. (2018). The antibiotic resistome and microbiota landscape of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan in Germany. Microbiome, 6(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0414-7.
Hughes, G. F., Mcelnay, J. C., Hughes, C. M., & McKenna, P. (1999). Abuse/misuse of non-prescription drugs. Pharmacy World and Science, 21(6), 251–255.
Ibrahim, Y., Hussain, S. M., Alnasser, S., Almohandes, H., & Sarhandi, I. (2018). Patterns and sociodemographic characteristics of substance abuse in Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia: a retrospective study at a psychiatric rehabilitation center. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 38(5), 319–325. https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2018.319.
Jakovljevic, M., Al ahdab, S., Jurisevic, M., & Mouselli, S. (2018). Antibiotic resistance in Syria: a local problem turns into a global threat. Frontiers in Public Health, 6(August), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00212.
Jamhour, A., El-Kheir, A., Salameh, P., Hanna, P. A., & Mansour, H. (2017). Antibiotic knowledge and self-medication practices in a developing country: a cross-sectional study. American Journal of Infection Control, 45(4), 384–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2016.11.026.
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2006). Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2005: vol. I. Secondary school students. NIH Publication No. 06-5883. Bethesda: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Katselou, M., Papoutsis, I., Nikolaou, P., Qammaz, S., Spiliopoulou, C., & Athanaselis, S. (2016). Fenethylline (Captagon) abuse – local problems from an old drug become universal. Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, 119(2), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.12584.
Kennedy, P. F. (2011). Part. II department of state., 76(11), 1–52.
Khalifeh, M. M., Moore, N. D., & Salameh, P. R. (2017). Self-medication misuse in the Middle East: a systematic literature review. Pharmacology Research & Perspectives, 5(4), e00323. https://doi.org/10.1002/prp2.323.
Lancet. (2017). Syria suffers as the world watches. Lancet (London, England), 389(10074), 1075.
Mujani, W. K., & Musa, S. N. I. (2015). The phenomenon of Arab Spring in the Middle East. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 152–157. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s2p152.
Otoom, S. A., & Sequeira, R. (2006). Health care providers’ perceptions of the problems and causes of irrational use of drugs in two Middle East countries. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 60(5), 565–570.
Riggs, P. (2008). Non-medical use and abuse of commonly prescribed medications. Current Medical Research and Opinion, 24(3), 869–877. https://doi.org/10.1185/030079908X273435.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2006). Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: national finding. (NSDUH Series H-30, DHHS Publication No. SMA 06-4194). Washington, DC: Office of Applied Studies.
Simoni-Wastila, L., & Yang, H. (2006). Psychoactive drug abuse in older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy, 4(4), 380–394 Retrieved from http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=emed7&NEWS=N&AN=2007078733. Accessed 5 Aug 2019.
Skolnick, P. (2017). The opioid epidemic: crisis and solutions. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 58(1), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010617-052534.
Soumya, R., Devarashetty, V., Jayanthi, C., & Sushma, M. (2016). Drug dispensing practices at pharmacies in Bengaluru: a cross-sectional study. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 48(4), 360. https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7613.186204.
Sweileh, W. M., Zyoud, S. H., Al-Jabi, S. W., & Sawalha, A. F. (2014). Substance use disorders in Arab countries: research activity and bibliometric analysis. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 9, 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-597X-9-33.
UNODC. (2011). Amphetamines and ecstasy. Assessment 2011 Global ATS. Global smart program. Retrieved from www.unodc.org. Accessed 5 Aug 2019.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2015). World Drug Report 2015 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E. 15. XI. 6)
Van Hout, M. C., & Wells. (2016). Is Captagon (fenethylline) helping to fuel the Syrian conflict? Addiction, 111(4), 748–749.
Verma, V., Singh, N., & Singh Jaggi, A. (2014). Pregabalin in neuropathic pain: evidences and possible mechanisms. Current Neuropharmacology, 12, 44–56 Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3915349/pdf/CN-12-44.pdfs. Accessed 5 Aug 2019.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Tahani Ballout, at the time a fellow student to Thurya Alaryan and Tharaa Abou Hasan, who assisted in distributing and collecting the questionnaires.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of Damascus University and the Ministry of Higher Education in Syria.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alaryan, T., Hasan, T.A., Eshelli, M. et al. The Misuse of Prescribed Drugs During the Syrian Crisis: a Cross-sectional Study. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 714–723 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00180-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00180-4