ABSTRACT
Introduction: This research paper is based on a study conducted on the in-door patients at a teaching hospital in Gujrat, Pakistan, in order to check for the frequency with which Penicillins, Quinolones and Cephalosporins are being used together and in combinations with other drugs and the drug-drug interactions that occur due to these combinations and their impacts on the patients
Objectives: [1] To check the frequency with which Penicillins, Quinolone and Cephalosporins are being used in different combinations in patients. [2] To determine their drug-drug interactions. [3] Impact on patients due to these interactions. [4] Reasons for prescription of mismatched combinations by clinicians. Study Design: 270 random prescriptions were collected from different wards of DHQ hospital, Gujrat. These prescriptions were then analyzed for drug interactions among the above mentioned group of drugs, with the help of soft ware program named The Medical Letter Adverse Drug Interaction Program. Setting: Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital [DHQ], Gujrat, Pakistan. Period: Prescriptions were collected over the period of 3 months
Conclusions: Prescribing antibiotics for different indications in indoor patients is unavoidable. However, it is the duty of the clinician to monitor the patient when he is using two or more drugs together. This study recommends the use of drug-drug interaction detecting software in hospitals, so that, the level of patients' safety may be enhanced