Drug prescribing patterns: a study of four institutions in Sri Lanka.

Drug prescribing patterns were studied retrospectively in 600 patients admitted to the medical wards of three Government hospitals and one private nursing home in the Kandy area of Sri Lanka. The mean drug exposure in the governmental institutions varied between 3.6 and 3.7, whereas at the private institution, patients were exposed to an average of 7.2 drugs. The three Government institutions used 87, 91 and 107 drugs. The private institution 201. There was no difference in drug exposure in relation to sex, but a tendency towards increased drug exposure was noted with increasing age and longer duration of stay. Antimicrobial agents were the most frequently prescribed class of drugs and diazepam the most prescribed single drug. The reasons for the extensive use of diazepam observed in this study are not clear.

Management of childhood acute respiratory infections at private pharmacies in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the knowledge and practice among private pharmacy staff in Hanoi regarding case management of mild acute respiratory infection (ARI) in children. METHODS: Sixty private pharmacies in Hanoi were randomly selected. Knowledge was assessed through interviews with pharmacy staff using a questionnaire; practice was assessed through the Simulated Client Method. RESULTS: In the questionnaire, 20% of the pharmacy staff stated that they would dispense antibiotics. In practice, 83% of the pharmacies dispensed antibiotics. Only 36% of the cases were handled according to guidelines. In the questionnaire, 81% of interviewees stated that antibiotics are not effective in short therapeutic courses. In practice, 48% of the antibiotics were dispensed in courses less than five days. Traditional herbal medicines were dispensed in 41% of the encounters. In the questionnaire, 53% of the pharmacy staff stated that they would ask the patient about difficulty of breathing. In practice, questions related to difficulty of breathing were asked in less than 10% of the encounters. CONCLUSIONS: Dispensing of antibiotics for mild ARI was common practice among private pharmacies, and there was a significant difference between knowledge and practice. Interventions are needed to improve pharmacy practice in Hanoi.