Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia
Objectives: Half of all drugs are used irrationally around the world, and about half of patients take their medications correctly. Inappropriate use of drugs leads to antibiotic resistance, medication therapy problems, and an increase in drug costs. This study aimed to assess irrational drug use and...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2021-06-01
|
| Series: | SAGE Open Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121211025146 |
| _version_ | 1818837422550548480 |
|---|---|
| author | Legese Melku Muluken Wubetu Bekalu Dessie |
| author_facet | Legese Melku Muluken Wubetu Bekalu Dessie |
| author_sort | Legese Melku |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: Half of all drugs are used irrationally around the world, and about half of patients take their medications correctly. Inappropriate use of drugs leads to antibiotic resistance, medication therapy problems, and an increase in drug costs. This study aimed to assess irrational drug use and its associated factors at the outpatient pharmacy of Debre Markos Referral Hospital. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was used. Systematic random sampling was used as a sampling technique. The data were collected with a structured checklist. The data were entered into EPI Data Version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results: The average number of drugs per patient encounter was 2.14. The prevalence of antibiotics use per encounter was 39.3%. Polypharmacy was detected in 62.2% of prescriptions, and injections were prescribed in 13% of prescriptions. The percentage of drugs prescribed with a generic name was 95.5%. In multivariable logistic regression, comorbidities, professionals’ training, and prescribers’ experience were significantly associated with polypharmacy. Patient age, comorbidity, presence of chronic disease, professionals training, and type of diseases were significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing. Conclusion: Our findings revealed there were practices of polypharmacy and antibiotics overuse. Continuous seminars and training on rational prescribing and periodic prescription surveys are recommended to prevent irrational drug use. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T03:22:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d63c71ef26b54ffd8f3e6492d4ad4834 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-3121 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T03:22:15Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-d63c71ef26b54ffd8f3e6492d4ad48342022-12-21T20:37:45ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open Medicine2050-31212021-06-01910.1177/20503121211025146Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest EthiopiaLegese Melku0Muluken Wubetu1Bekalu Dessie2Debre Markos Referral Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, EthiopiaDepartment of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaDepartment of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaObjectives: Half of all drugs are used irrationally around the world, and about half of patients take their medications correctly. Inappropriate use of drugs leads to antibiotic resistance, medication therapy problems, and an increase in drug costs. This study aimed to assess irrational drug use and its associated factors at the outpatient pharmacy of Debre Markos Referral Hospital. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was used. Systematic random sampling was used as a sampling technique. The data were collected with a structured checklist. The data were entered into EPI Data Version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results: The average number of drugs per patient encounter was 2.14. The prevalence of antibiotics use per encounter was 39.3%. Polypharmacy was detected in 62.2% of prescriptions, and injections were prescribed in 13% of prescriptions. The percentage of drugs prescribed with a generic name was 95.5%. In multivariable logistic regression, comorbidities, professionals’ training, and prescribers’ experience were significantly associated with polypharmacy. Patient age, comorbidity, presence of chronic disease, professionals training, and type of diseases were significantly associated with antibiotic prescribing. Conclusion: Our findings revealed there were practices of polypharmacy and antibiotics overuse. Continuous seminars and training on rational prescribing and periodic prescription surveys are recommended to prevent irrational drug use.https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121211025146 |
| spellingShingle | Legese Melku Muluken Wubetu Bekalu Dessie Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia SAGE Open Medicine |
| title | Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia |
| title_full | Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia |
| title_short | Irrational drug use and its associated factors at Debre Markos Referral Hospital’s outpatient pharmacy in East Gojjam, Northwest Ethiopia |
| title_sort | irrational drug use and its associated factors at debre markos referral hospital s outpatient pharmacy in east gojjam northwest ethiopia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121211025146 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT legesemelku irrationaldruguseanditsassociatedfactorsatdebremarkosreferralhospitalsoutpatientpharmacyineastgojjamnorthwestethiopia AT mulukenwubetu irrationaldruguseanditsassociatedfactorsatdebremarkosreferralhospitalsoutpatientpharmacyineastgojjamnorthwestethiopia AT bekaludessie irrationaldruguseanditsassociatedfactorsatdebremarkosreferralhospitalsoutpatientpharmacyineastgojjamnorthwestethiopia |