ABSTRACT
Prescription of drugs which needs to be continuously assessed and refined accordingly. It is not only reflects the physician’s knowledge of pharmacology and pathophysiology of diseases but also his/her skill in diagnose and attitude towards selecting the most appropriate cost effective treatment. Antimicrobials are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in hospital. As per literature, they account for nearly 20% of all new and repeat prescription each year. Hospital purchase of these drugs is thought to be about 25 to 30 % of the total annual drug budget. Such studies have been sparse from Gujarat and hence, this study was undertaken. Objective: This study was carried out to find out the prescribing patterns of antimicrobial drugs in the medicine department at tertiary teaching care hospital, Vadodara (Gujarat). Methods: Retrospective study was carried out by collecting 350 prescriptions containing antimicrobial agents of the indoor patients admitted (Oct 2005 to June 2006) in the wards of medicine department at Sir Sayajirao General (SSG) Hospital, Vadodara to assess the prescribing patterns of antimicrobial agents. All the information about drugs details were recorded in pre-tested proforma. Results: In our study, total 350 prescriptions containing 539 antimicrobial drugs were prescribed in-patients during study. Of them β –lactam (except CP) (159; 29.49%) and cephalosporin (156; 28.94%) groups were commonly prescribed. Average number of antimicrobials per prescription was 1.54.Out of 539 antimicrobial agents prescribed, 486 (90.16%) were prescribed by generic name, while only 53(9.53%) were prescribed by trade name. Total numbers of antimicrobial prescribed by parenteral route were 313(58.07%), while 226(41.93%) antimicrobial agents were prescribed by oral route. Conclusion: Results indicate that noticeable controlled over the prescribing habits of the physicians for indoor patients at our hospital. It is suggested that further detail analysis to judge the rationality of the therapy is necessary.