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Antibiotics prescription for indigent patients in primary care
Author(s) -
Tzimis L.,
Katsantonis N.,
Leledaki A.,
Vasilomanolakis K.,
Kafatos A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.622
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2710
pISSN - 0269-4727
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2710.1997.9075090.x
Subject(s) - medical prescription , primary care , antibiotics , medicine , family medicine , nursing , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Objective: A drug use evaluation focusing on prescribed antibiotics among Greek indigent and Social Security patients. Method : Four hundred and forty‐six indigent patients insured by Social Care and 332 patients insured under Social Security Funds were interviewed and their prescription records reviewed. Results : Although 88·5% of indigent patients stated that they had received instructions on antibiotic use and had understood these instructions, only 45·9% could correctly repeat these instructions. Only 9·9% read the enclosed leaflets and 59·4% reported asking the pharmacist for advice, 54·1% of these patients were unaware of the dosage of their medication, and the length of treatment was only written in 13% of cases. The most common diseases among indigent patients were respiratory infection (11·7%) and dental problems (10·1%). The latter ranked 11th among the insured patients (3·7%). Tuberculosis (3·3%) was still one of the most common diseases among the indigent patients. Overall, 30·9% of the prescribed daily defined dose (DDD) of medication for the indigent patients were for cardiovascular drugs (16·9% of the cost), 19·5% were for nervous system drugs (8·9% of the cost), 13·5% for gastrointestinal tract drugs (14·1% of the cost) and only 4·3% were antibiotics (but 16·9% of the cost). The most frequently prescribed antimicrobials were penicillins (45·6%), cephalosporins (19·7%), macrolides (12·6%) and quinolones (9·6%). Antituberculous agents made up 13·7% of the antibiotic prescriptions. The most widely prescribed antibiotics were amoxycillin+clavulanate (19·3%), amoxycillin (7·9%), cefaclor (5·6%), clarythromycin (5·1%) and rifampicin+isoniazid (6·3%). Conclusion : The present study emphasizes the need for more information on drug use among indigent patients and their information needs.