Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Sreevalsam Institute of Medical Sciences, Naduvaom-Edappal, Malappuram, Kerala, India
*Correspondence address: Dr. R Selvaraj MBBS, MD Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Sreevalsam Institute of Medical Sciences, Naduva..om-Edappal, Malappuram- 679576, Kerala, India, Email: selvaraj7@yahoo.com
Online published on 9 October, 2015.
Drug utilization studies should be periodically performed in order to increase therapeutic efficacy, decrease adverse effects and provide feedback to prescribers to promote rational use of drugs. Systematic audit of prescriptions among surgical outpatients are lacking in hospitals.
evaluate the paern of antibiotic usage amongst the patients aending the surgery OPD (Out Patient Department) in a tertiary care hospital.
The study was carried out over a one-year period at tertiary care hospital. 750 prescriptions from the surgical outpatient department were selected for analysis. The age, sex and diagnosis of the patients were noted. The percentage of drugs prescribed from the essential drug lists and the mean cost of drugs per prescription was calculated.
Out of 750 prescriptions, 410 patients were males and 340 were females. Average number of drugs prescribed is 4.28. The most commonly prescribed drugs were anti-microbial agents (AMAs), gastrointestinal tract (GIT).
Related, non-steroidal anti-infl ammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and multivitamins and trace elements, and their percentages were 34.90%, 21.30%, 13.15%, and 8.61% respectively. About 94% drugs were prescribed by non-generic (Trade) names.
Drugs prescribed from National Essential Medicines List (EML) and World Health Organization EML were 66.2% and 42.3% respectively.
Prescribing by generic name and from the essential drug lists should be encouraged. Educational sessions, especially for junior doctors, on the correct method of writing prescriptions, are required. Further studies are needed.
Drug utilization, prescribing paerns, Surgery OPD
