RESUMO
BACKGROUND: A prescription by a doctor may be taken as a reflection of physician's attitude to the disease. Inappropriate prescription has always been a serious problem in developing countries. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to observe the current prescription practices for the management of diarrhea and pneumonia in Bhopal. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted at the clinics and hospitals of Bhopal over 4 months. The prescription of under-5 children with a diagnosis of acute respiratory tract infection and/or acute gastroenteritis attending the outpatient departments was included in the study. Data were recorded and analysis was done. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Epi Info was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 513 prescriptions of pneumonia and 417 of diarrhea were observed under the study. Among pneumonia, signs were mentioned on 15.6%, 74% as cold and cough with 95.5% prescriptions with antimicrobials. Seventy-three percent of diarrhea prescriptions did not mention any signs. Oral rehydration salt and zinc were prescribed in majority of the prescriptions along with around 64% use of antibiotics as well for the treatment of diarrhea. CONCLUSION: There is a huge need of improvement in prescribing patterns in areas of complete prescriptions with clinical features, follow-up advice along with rational choice of drugs with dose, and duration.
