Drug Prescribing Pattern in a Satellite Campus Clinic of a University Medical Centre in Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the drug prescribing pattern in a Satellite Campus Clinic of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Medical Centre in Eastern Nigeria. Atotal of 362 prescriptions were collected from a six month prescriptions' pool and analyzed for mean number of drugs per prescription, percentage of drugs prescribed in generic names, percentage in injectable forms, and the different therapeutic groups of drugs prescribed. The mean number of drugs per prescription was 4.66±1.06 and up to 50.6% of prescriptions contained more than 4 drugs. Of the number of drugs prescribed, 65.17% were in the generic names and 8.65% in injection forms. About 97.37% of the prescribed drugs were in Essential Drug List (EDL). The practice of polypharmacy was prevalent. Regular orientation of prescribers on rational drug prescribing in accordance with the National drug policies is expedient.