An audit of drug prescribing practices of dentists.
Article
in English
| IMSEAR
| ID: sea-51436
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Data are scarce on the prescribing habits of dental practitioners. Drug use in dentistry and stomatology is undertaken to determine the pattern of drug use for patients seeking treatment.METHODS:
1820 prescriptions of dental patients attending the dental outpatient departments at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Nepal were collected by a random once weekly survey between March '01 to February '02. The information was compiled, scored and analyzed in consultation with dentists using WHO guidelines.RESULTS:
Males numbered 801 (44%) and females 1019 (56%). Most of the patients were aged between 13-25 years. The dental disorders most frequently reported in our study were diseases of pulp and periapical tissue (36.5%), gingivitis and periodontal disease (28.5%), and dental caries (16%). The average number of drugs prescribed was 2.03 (3698 / 1820) and 66% prescriptions contained antimicrobials (1 or 2). 21% drugs were prescribed in generic names and 38% drugs were fixed dose combinations of 2 or more drugs. 4/5 of the prescribed drugs were systemic agents and 1/5 were local/topical agents. The most commonly prescribed systemic agents were analgesics (43.7%) followed by antimicrobials (39%). The most conmonly prescribed local / topical agents were anti-infectives (74%). In the present study, NSAID's (89.6%) were the preferred analgesics over narcotic analgesics (10.4%). The most frequently prescribed systemic analgesic and antimicrobials were ibuprofen and amoxycillin, respectively.CONCLUSIONS:
This study may help in identifying the problems involved in therapeutic decision making. Also, there is a clear need for the development of prescribing guidelines and educational initiatives to encourage the rational and appropriate use of drugs in dentistry.
Full text:
Available
Index:
IMSEAR (South-East Asia)
Main subject:
Drug Prescriptions
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Child
/
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
/
Ibuprofen
/
Adolescent
/
Drugs, Generic
/
Adult
Type of study:
Practice guideline
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Year:
2004
Type:
Article
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