Patterns of drugs prescribed for dental outpatients in Nigeria: findings and implications.



Fadare, JO, Oshikoya, KA, Obimakinde, OS, Sijuade, AO, Afolayan, JM, Adeleke, AA, Godman, B ORCID: 0000-0001-6539-6972 and Ojumu, DO
(2017) Patterns of drugs prescribed for dental outpatients in Nigeria: findings and implications. Acta odontologica Scandinavica, 75 (7). pp. 1-11.

[img] Text
Accepted paper Dental prescribing Nigeria.docx - Author Accepted Manuscript

Download (116kB)

Abstract

There are concerns with inappropriate prescribing of medicines among dentists especially antimicrobials. It is more concerning if this increases resistance rates. This study aimed to address this by assessing patterns of drugs prescribed for outpatients attending a hospital dental clinic in Nigeria. The findings will be used to plan future interventions, particularly around antimicrobial prescribing, where there are concerns.Medical records of patients attending the dental clinic of a leading teaching hospital in Nigeria were evaluated. Patients referred for admission, without a prescription, or prescribed medicines without a documented diagnosis were excluded.Overall, 607 prescriptions were analysed, 314 (51.7%) were for females. Periodontal and gum diseases (414; 68.1%) were the most frequent diagnoses, followed by pulpitis (49; 8.2%), and dentoalveolar abscess (43; 7.1%). A total of 1798 medicines were prescribed for all patients with a mean of 3.0 ± 0.48 medicines per prescription. Antimicrobials (1178; 65.5%) and analgesics (620; 34.5%) were the two drug classes prescribed. Ascorbic acid and vitamin B complex were prescribed for 361 (59.5%) patients. Among antimicrobials, amoxicillin (564; 95.1%) either alone or combined with clavulanic acid was the most frequently prescribed, followed by metronidazole (561; 94.6%). Brand name prescribing was also appreciably higher than WHO recommendations.Polypharmacy, brand name prescriptions, and the frequent prescription of antimicrobials were common practices at the dental clinic of this teaching hospital in Nigeria. We suggest a review of the current standard treatment guidelines in Nigeria to guide dentists on current knowledge- and evidence-based treatment of common oral diseases.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Antibiotics, dentistry, Nigeria, rational prescribing
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 04 Aug 2017 13:15
Last Modified: 25 Mar 2024 23:30
DOI: 10.1080/00016357.2017.1347822
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3008820