Dotazione familiare di farmaci e presidi sanitari nella cittadina di Mottola

This study provides an overview on the drugs used by a significant sample of families from Mottola, a town of about 16,000 inhabitants in the Province of Taranto. The main purpose of the study, in addition to the involvement of young people and local professionals in the data collection phase, was to assess the validity and appropriateness of the allocation of drugs to foster a greater awareness of their use, and also to gather information on the drugs expired in sight of reducing leftover and reuse as research and education tools. The survey, conducted between late 2012 and early 2013, involved 156 families for a total of 487 people, a significant sample corresponding to 3% of the population. People involved in the survey were generally interested in the topic. In regard to the use of health facilities for first aid, it should be noted that about 62% of people use sodium hypochlorite and denatured ethyl alcohol as disinfectants. Some medical devices were widely present; in particular, the device for nebulisation of drugs used to treat respiratory tract disorders was present in 81.4% of households. The drugs for first aid generally belonged to the C band of SSN classification (with some exceptions such as lansoprazole, used as a gastric protector); only 27% of the above was provided by SSN. The drugs found in the sample families were mainly represented by antipyretics, anti-inflammatories and painkillers (44%), and of the gastrointestinal tract medicines (28%). The drugs devoted to the treatment of specific diseases were present with 6.1 packs per family, compared to 8.2 packs for drugs of first aid. Examining the distribution of drugs in the various ATC categories, the highest rates were found for the cardiovascular system (16.7% with a peak of 30% in the last age group), eating disorders and metabolism (11.5%) and respiratory tract (11.0%) drugs. The expired drugs amounted to an average of a pack per family with a residual of 44% of the overall content, for those of first aid, and 0.7 packs with a residual 59%, for medicines used for specific diseases. A comparison of the percentages of expired drugs and those in use highlights that the use of NSAIDs is a nearly exhaustive, insignificant percentage NSAIDs expired being found. The results were discussed in relation with: the tendency to self-medication and the opportunity to improve the awareness of citizens; the possibility of response to economic hardship, evidenced by the 16.7% of respondents; the opportunity for the recovery of active principles from expired drugs in order to reduce environmental pollution; the importance of a participatory management of research.