Background Improper disposal of medication has several possible consequences such as childhood poisoning, environmental pollution, a negative impact on wildlife, and antibiotic resistance. The number of studies conducted to characterize pharmaceutical disposal practices is limited, particularly in the Middle East. Objective The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the behaviour of individuals with respect to the disposal of expired and unused medications. Furthermore, we aimed to identify the best methods of education regarding appropriate, safe disposal of medication. Setting The study was carried out in King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), and King Saud University (KSU), during a 3-month period from February 2015 to April 2015. Method Twelve hundred patients were randomly selected from KKUH and KSU. Participants were invited to complete paper-based questionnaire with self enumeration. Pilot testing was conducted and involved 50 randomly selected participants. Main outcome measures The proportion of expired medications present in the home and their therapeutic groups, disposal methods of expired and unused medications, and preferred educational methods regarding safe and proper disposing of medications. Results A substantial proportion (79.15 %) of respondents disposed of unwanted medication via household waste, while a small proportion (1.70 %) returned unwanted medication to a pharmacy. Although currently practised disposal methods are undoubtedly unsuitable, 70.20 % of respondents considered finding appropriate, safe methods via which to dispose of unwanted medication their responsibility, and 78.6 % expressed an interest in receiving information concerning the correct disposal of unwanted medication. Conclusion We have demonstrated that a low percentage of respondents have ever received information regarding correct medication disposal. Moreover, the results have shown that over half of the respondents store antibiotics in their households. Additionally, respondents weren't aware of the consequences of keeping expired medication at home. It is quite clear that the awareness of proper and safe drug disposal among the Saudi population is quite low making it a priority of concerned authorities to implement educational programs.

BackgroundAntibiotic prescriptions at emergency departments (ED) could be a primary contributing factor to the overuse of antimicrobial agents and subsequently antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of antibiotic prescriptions at an emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study, based on a review of antibiotic prescriptions was conducted. All cases who visited the emergency department over a three-month period with a complaint of infection were analyzed in terms of patient characteristics (age, sex, infection type, and number of visits) and prescription characteristics (antibiotic category, spectrum, course and costs). The World Health Organization and International Network of Rational Use of Drugs prescribing indicators were presented. Descriptive and analytic statistics were applied.ResultsA total of 36,069 ED visits were recorded during the study period, of which 45,770 drug prescriptions were prescribed, including 6,354 antibiotics. The average number of drugs per encounter was 1.26, while the percentage of encounters with a prescribed antibiotic was 17.6%. Among antibiotic prescriptions, the percentage of encounters with injection antibiotics was 15.2%. Almost 77% of antibiotics were prescribed by their generic names, and the percentage of antibiotics prescribed from the essential list was 100%.ConclusionThe average number of drugs per encounter in general and antibiotics per encounter in specific at this setting was lower than the standard value. However, the percentage of antibiotics prescribed by its generic name was less than optimal.