ISSN 2326-7267
International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology ISSN: 2326-7267 Vol. 2 (6), pp. 094-098, September, 2013. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Comparative assessment of prescription quality among hypertensive patients in South-West Nigeria
*Akunne OO (M.Sc.), Adedapo ADA (FWACP M.SC).
Department of pharmacology and therapeutics, University of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.
University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author E-mail: onyinyeakunne@yahoo.com; Tel. +234-806-281-3737.
Accepted 24 July, 2013
Abstract
Rational drug use is consequential to effective management of chronic conditions such as hypertension. This study was carried out to compare the quality of prescription in patients attending the outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria against standard values and to compare study findings with similar studies carried out in other parts of the country. One thousand nine hundred and seventy-two case notes were reviewed following each clinic. Quality of prescription was assessed using WHO prescribing indicators. There were 58.4% females and 41.6% males of an average aged of 59.6±11.8 years. Average number of drugs per encounter was 3.9. Only 56.9% of drugs were prescribed by their generic name. Percentage of encounters containing antibiotic and injection were 3.6% and 0.9% respectively. About 87.7% of drugs prescribed were from the essential drug list. The most prescribed drug aside from antihypertensives was aspirin occurring in 843 (43.7%) of the 1927 eligible encounters. Quality of prescription in Ibadan, Nigeria as with other parts of the country was found to be low. Although, use of antibiotics and injection was low, poly-pharmacy and low prescription of drugs by their generic names were observed, educational interventions are needed to improve prescribing quality.
Key words: Prescription quality, rational drug, hypertension, WHO prescribing indicators, Nigeria.