Abstract
Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID), are among the most widely used and misused of all drugs. Though they provide symptomatic relief from pain and swelling in chronic joint diseases, they may cause renal impairment, especially in combination with other nephrotoxic agents. This study aimed to investigate the prescription pattern of NSAID in the Out-patient Pharmacy Department of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Nigeria. A total of 3800 prescriptions containing NSAIDs were analyzed for information on drug name, the number of NSAIDs per prescription, the presence of ACE inhibitors and diuretics alongside NSAIDs and NSAIDs prescribed in generic or brand names. The results showed that Aspirin was the most frequently prescribed NSAID (62.2%) and 68.4% of the NSAIDs prescriptions studied were written in generic names. The total number of drugs per prescription was in most cases 3 or greater (84.6%). There were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) associations between the individual NSAID prescribed and whether they were prescribed in generics or brand names; individual NSAID prescribed and the frequency of co-prescription with an ACE inhibitor and a diuretic; types of NSAID prescribed and the cost in Naira. Though most of the prescribers complied with WHO standard in their prescriptions vis a vis generic prescription, avoidance of polypharmacy and avoidance of drug interactions and contraindications, there is obvious need for interventional measures or strategies to improve rational prescribing for some of the prescribers tailored towards rational prescription and use of drugs.
Highlights
Pain affects a person's quality of life and general functioning 1-2 and it is the commonest reason for physician consultation.[3]
Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has many pharmacy units, one of which is the Out-patient Pharmacy Department (OPD), where the prescriptions written by the doctors of patients who have no need for immediate hospitalization or who have been discharged are dispensed
The results revealed that only 0.5 % Non-steroidal Anti- inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) were prescribed with an anti-coagulant while 20.8 % of NSAIDs were prescribed along with an ACE inhibitor and a diuretic
Summary
Pain affects a person's quality of life and general functioning 1-2 and it is the commonest reason for physician consultation.[3]. Non-steroidal Anti- inflammatory Drugs commonly called NSAIDs are among the most widely used and misused of all drugs.[4] Most NSAIDs act as non-selective inhibitors of both the cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) isoenzymes. NSAIDs provide symptomatic relief from pain and swelling in chronic joint diseases such as occur in rheumatoid arthritis and in more acute inflammatory conditions such as sports injuries, fractures, sprains, acute arthritic pains and other soft tissue injuries. They provide relief from post-operative, dental and menstrual pain, and from the pain of headaches and migraine.5They are given to neonates whose ductus arteriosus did not close within 24 hours of birth
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