Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid: a case study in the evaluation of drug advertising

ABSTRACT

There is an absence of objective source of drug information in developing countries, as a result drug advertisement may be the prescriber's primary source of drug information. Several factors have been reported as affecting physician prescribing behavior, including advertising. The prupose of advertising, its validity, and cost will be examined. An advertisement for Augmentin[R] [amoxycillin/clavulanic acid] appearing in the January 1993 Saudi Medical Journal is presented as a case study in the evaluation of drug advertising. To goal of evaluating the Augmentin[R] advertisement is to compare the claims made by the manufacturer with what of objective scientific sources. In the evaluation reported here we could not find literature documentation from accepted scientific sources supporting the claims made in the Augmentin[R] advertisement. The extent to which this kind of advertising contributes to the inappropriate use of antibiotics is unknown. A simple model for evaluating an antibiotic drug advertisement is suggested