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. 2021 Oct 30;22:216. doi: 10.1186/s12875-021-01561-2

Table 2.

Quantity of anti-common cold medications recommended by the pharmacists

Number of medications a Quantity of recommendations [n;%] b Combinations of anti-common cold treatment [n;%]c
1 77 (15.3%) 1 soluble 32 (6.4%)
1 tablets 43 (8.6%)
1 add-on 2 (0.4%)
2 184 (36.7%) 2 tablets 28 (5.6%)
2 add-on 1 (0.1%)
1 soluble/1 add-on 58 (11.6%)
1 soluble/1 tablets 44 (8.8%)
1 tablets/1 add-on 53 (10.6%)
3 150 (29.9%) 3 add-on 1 (0.1%)
1 soluble/2 add-on 6 (1.2%)
1 soluble/2 tablets 1 (0.1%)
1 tablets/2 add-on 5 (1%)
1 add-on/2 tablets 25 (5%)
1 soluble/1 tablets/1 add-on 112 (22.3%)
4 34 (6.8%) 1 tablets/3 add-on 1 (0.1%)
2 tablets/2 add-on 4 (0.7%)
1 soluble/1 tablets/2 add-on 24 (4.8%)
1 soluble/2 tablets/1 add-on 4 (0.7%)
2 soluble/1 tablets/1 add-on 1 (0.1%)
5 28 (5.6%) 1 soluble/2 tablets/2 add-on 14 (2.8%)
2 soluble/1 tablets/2 add-on 3 (0.6%)
2 soluble/2 tablets/1 add-on 1 (0.1%)
1 soluble/1 tablets/3 add-on 10 (2%)
6 25 (5%) 1 soluble/1 tablets/4 add-on 1 (0.1%)
1 soluble/2 tablets/3 add-on 6 (1.2%)
2 soluble/1 tablets/3 add-on 1 (0.1%)
2 soluble/2 tablets/2 add-on 17 (3.4%)
7 4 (0.7%) 2 soluble/2 tablets/3 add-on 2 (0.4%)
2 soluble/3 tablets/2 add-on 2 (0.4%)

a Number of recommended anti-common cold medications (presented as a raw number)

b Number of patient encounters where a given number of medications were recommended, presented as raw numbers and, in brackets, as percentage of total 502 patient encounters

c Anti-common cold treatment was divided into three sections: soluble products including paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid and magnesium metamizole; tablets/capsules including paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, pseudoephedrine, anti-viral agents, herbal and homeopathic products; and add-on treatment, such as alpha-mimetics, mucolytics, anti-histamines and products for sore throat. Data presented as raw numbers of the patient encounters with anti-common cold medication recommendation and as percentage of the pharmacists’ recommendations in 502 patient encounters