ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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Year : 2018 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 1 | Page : 33-41 |
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Assessment of morbidities and pattern of medication use among medical in-patients in a university teaching hospital South-South Nigeria
Peter Ehizokhale Akhideno1, Ambrose Ohumagho Isah2, Olumuyiwa John Fasipe3
1 Department of Internal Medicine, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irruar, Nigeria 2 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria 3 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Olumuyiwa John Fasipe Medical Lecturer and Senior Physician, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, University of Medical Sciences, Along Laje Road Ondo City, Ondo State Nigeria
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jhrr.jhrr_96_17
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Aim: The pattern of morbidities in a setting often influences the pattern of medications prescribed. Intensified global efforts to improve the rational use of medications necessitated the development of medication use indicators. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive, prospective study in which inpatients admitted into the internal medicine wards of a teaching hospital over a 9-month period between December 2015 and August 2016 were evaluated on specific days following admission using the World Health Organization-International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (WHO-INRUD) prescribing indicators. Results: A total of 507 patients were evaluated; 269 patients (53.1%) were male, 238 patients (46.9%) were females, and their age range was 17–89 years. The most common morbidities among these inpatients were infectious diseases such as Malaria (18.9%) and HIV/AIDS (17.2%). The noninfectious disease conditions, diabetes mellitus (17%), and hypertension (16.8%) were next in prevalence. Most patients (412 patients; 81.3%) had more than one morbidity. The most commonly prescribed medications were 5% glucose in saline (300 patients; 59.2%), Vitamin B complex (257 patients; 50.7%), and furosemide (183 patients; 36.1%). The average number of medications prescribed per patient during admission was 9.1 ± 3.8 drugs, while the median number of medications used during admission was eight drugs. The percentage of medications prescribed by generic names was 85.6%, while 88.1% of medications were prescribed from the essential medicines list. Conclusion: The pattern of medication use was largely in-keeping and consistent with the pattern of morbidities despite confirmatory diagnosis and symptomatic treatment observed in most instances. This translates to rational and safer pharmacotherapy practices as the modified WHO-INRUD prescribing indicator will be a useful monitoring tool for rational medication prescriptions among inpatients.
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