Current clinical application of ambroxol hydrochloride injection and consideration on the rational drug use / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the current clinical application of ambroxol hydrochloride injection and promote its rational use. METHODS: Based on the Hospital Prescription Analysis Cooperation Project, 160-day prescription data about ambroxol hydrochloride injection from 2010 to 2013 was sampled randomly from the database of 82 general hospitals in six cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Tianjin. According to the drug instruction, relevant guidelines, expert consensus, and literature, the clinical use of ambroxol hydrochloride injection was analyzed. RESULTS: Within the scope of sampling time, there were 2.67 million prescriptions of ambroxol hydrochloride injection, and 14.01 million ampoules(15 mg per ampoule) were used clinically. According to the percentage of prescription complying with the drug instruction, the six cities were ranked in descending order as follows Hangzhou(28.03%) > Chengdu(26.25%) > Shanghai(14.66%) > Guangzhou(9.38%) > Beijing(7.72%) > Tianjin(3.98%). However, various off-label uses were found in administration route, dosage, and indications. CONCLUSION: Off-label use of ambroxol hydrochloride injection is common in clinic, which needs to be paid great attention to and to be standardized.