Inappropriate prescription of allopurinol in a teaching hospital.
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-39647
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Allopurinol is a drug that is widely used to treat hyperuricemia, but it is often prescribed inappropriately.OBJECTIVE:
The authors conducted a study to look for the appropriate allopurinol prescription and diagnosis of gout in the out-patient clinics at a university hospital. MATERIAL ANDMETHOD:
One hundred and forty-five patients who were newly prescribed allopurinol (128 males and 17 females, mean +/- SD age of 58.5 +/-14.1 years) were enrolled in this study.RESULT:
Only 77 (53.1%) received allopurinol with appropriate indications. Thirty-eight patients (26.2%) did not have allopurinol dose adjustment according to the patients' creatinine clearance. Among 131 patients, prescribed allopurinol for the diagnosis of gout, only 55 (42.0%) were diagnosed in accordance with the American Rheumatism Association criteria.CONCLUSION:
Inappropriate use of allopurinol (both the indication and prescribed dosage) and inappropriate diagnosis of gout are major problems even in a large teaching hospital. An educational campaign program is warranted for achieving appropriate diagnosis of gout, and eliminating the inappropriate use of allopurinol.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Main subject:
Outpatient Clinics, Hospital
/
Drug Prescriptions
/
Thailand
/
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Allopurinol
/
Gout Suppressants
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2007
Type:
Article
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