ABSTRACT
Aims: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The present study was carried out to assess prescribing practice for oral antidiabetic drugs in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients seen in diabetic outpatients in private clinics in Kerman, Iran. Study Design: Retrospective analysis of prescription pattern for type 2 diabetic outpatients. Place and Duration of Study: Diabetic clinics in Kerman city, Iran, (from 1st September 2012 to 31st August 2013. Methodology: Prescription pattern of 1118 diabetic outpatients were analyzed for age, percentage of male and female patients, antidiabetic drug category, name of prescribed drug, most frequently prescribed antidiabetic drug and percentage of one/two drug combination. Results: Out of the 1118 prescriptions of antidiabetic drugs studied, 424 (37.9%) were for women and 694(62.1%) were for men with mean age of 56.2±11 years. Oral antidiabetic drugs were prescribed for 777(69.5%) and 30.5% of patients received insulin. Biguanides were the most frequently prescribed drugs (61.7%) followed by sulfonylurea (59.9%), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (4.5%), repaglinide (NovoNorm®) (2.7%) and thiazolidinediones (1.7%). Metformin 690 (61.7%) and glibenclamide 670 (59.9%) were the most frequently prescribed antidiabetic drugs. About 46.9% of patients received monotherapy and a total of 594 (53.1%) patients were on combination therapy of 2 or more antidiabetic drugs. The Combination of glibenclamide plus metformin (41.5%) was the most commonly prescribed antidiabetic drug combination in diabetic outpatients. Most common prescribed drugs associated with DM were found to be antihypertensive/antianginal (65%) and lipid lowering drugs (33.3%). Conclusions: Oral hypoglycemic agents were the main form of antidiabetic therapy in type 2 DM patients. Metformin was the most frequently prescribed biguanides and combination of metformin with glibenclamide has been most widely used. This suggests the need for development of evidence-based guidelines for oral antidiabetic prescription by health professionals.