Prescribing pattern of iron preparations in antenatal women in a tertiary care hospital.

Iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women is a major health problem in India. According to WHO, anemia in pregnant women is described as Hb% < 11g/dl or hematocrit < 33% and all pregnant women are to be given a standard dose of 60mg and 120mg elemental iron for prophylaxis and treatment of anemia respectively. As per ICMR guidelines, the dosage has increased from 60 to 100mg for treatment of anemia. This study was done to study the prescribing pattern of iron preparations in antenatal women and to compare the elemental iron content in the drug. Fifty pregnant women were included in the study. Prescription analysis showed that 94% were given oral iron preparations and 6% were given I.V. injections. The commonly prescribed drugs were Ferrous Ascorbate(42%) and Sodium Feredetate(40%) containing elemental iron 100mg and 33mg respectively. The I.V. preparation used was mainly iron sucrose (6%). Since both the oral iron preparations were prescribed once daily, Ferrous Ascorbate should be preferred over Sodium Feredetate since the total elemental iron in Sodium Feredetate is not sufficient as per WHO and ICMR guidelines.

Prescription pattern of benzodiazepines for inpatients at a tertiary care university hospital in Pakistan

To determine the point prevalence of benzodiazepine prescriptions for inpatients at a tertiary care university hospital in Pakistan and to correlate it with prescription patterns of various specialties, indications and demographic variables of the patients. This 24-hours point prevalence study was done at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. By convenient random sampling, 208 inpatients were interviewed. Patients' files were also studied to record the drugs administered. Data was entered into questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS 10.0. The point prevalence of the benzodiazepines was 21.2%. It was higher among males than females and among surgical than non-surgical patients. Midazolam was the most commonly used benzodiazepine, followed by Alprazolam and Lorazepam. Pre-anesthesia and psychiatric symptoms were the two most common indications. Oral route was used in 84% patients for drug administration and mean Valium equivalent dosage was 4.86mg/day. Mean length of prescription was 3 days. Longer duration of hospitalization was a significant predictor of the requirement of benzodiazepine prescription [p-value=0.020]. Prescription pattern of benzodiazepines at a tertiary care university hospital is similar to that reported in the developed countries through monitoring at various levels by physicians, clinical pharmacist and nursing staff. Data regarding the prescription pattern of benzodiazepines is scarce, and it needs to be expanded to formulate clear guidelines regarding their prescription