Assessment of prescribing at a private pediatric outpatient setting in northern India

Abstract

Background: Drug prescribing reflects the physician's skills and attitude toward diagnosis of an ailment and selection of appropriate treatment. As prescribing pattern changes over a period of time, it is imperative to carry out evaluation of prescribing on a continuous basis. Objectives: Present study was carried out to assess the prescribing pattern in pediatric outpatient clinic. Methods: A drug utilization study was carried out in 2307 patients at a pediatric outpatient setting for a period of one year in the pediatric population (ages 1 day-18 yrs). The data for the year 2011 was captured from the Wise-kid software. Results: Upper respiratory tract illness was found to be the most common (47%) illness. The average number of drugs prescribed was 3.400.41, while drugs prescribed by generic name were nine percent. The percentage of encounter with injection and antimicrobials prescribed were found to be 0.71 % and 15 % respectively. Cephalosporins were found to be the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics (33%). Conclusion: The prescribing pattern in the present study indicates that antimicrobials were used in a judicious manner in accordance with the current guidelines. Injections were prescribed to a few patients only. This article provides an overview of drug utilization review in a pediatric outpatient clinic.