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Drug Utilization Pattern Of Antimicrobial Agents In Dental Outpatients Of A Tertiary Care Teaching Rural Hospital

Aim: To study drug utilization pattern of antimicrobial agents in various outpatient departments of a tertiary care teaching rural dental hospital. Methods: A prospective-observational study was carried out in 200 patients from January 2014 to March 2014. Relevant information was obtained from the interview as well the hospital case record. Structured and pre-tested format was used for compiling the data. Results: The majority of the patients (51.5%) were in age group 41 to 60 years. Common conditions for antibiotic use included periodontal diseases (46.5%), endodontic diseases (38.5%) and dental caries (21.5%).Five antimicrobial drug formulations were used leading to a total of their 253 drug uses. Amoxicillin alone (64%) was the most commonly prescribed antimicrobial formulation followed by amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid (31.5%), metronidazole (26.5%), ofloxacin plus ornidazole (3%) and doxycycline (1.5%). The average number of antimicrobials prescribed per patient was 1.61. The average duration of antimicrobial was found to be minimum 3 days to maximum 5 days. Except ofloxacin plus ornidazole, all of the prescribed antimicrobials have been included in the WHO Model List of Essential medicines. 50.59% and 49.40% of total antimicrobial drug formulations were prescribed by generic and brand names respectively. Conclusions: Drug utilization data can help to formulate appropriate clinical guidelines for drug use and facilitate rational use of medicines in population. [Patel N NJIRM 2014; 5(3):42-45]