Prescribing practices and cost of drugs for peptic ulcer in a primary health center in Pulau Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose: Description of the prescribing patterns of gastric acid suppressant treatment in peptic ulcer disease and the cost analysis in a tertiary health center in Malaysia Methods: A cross sectional retrospective study was conducted at a Universiti Sans Malaysia (USM) Health Center, Clinic, Malaysia. Convenience sampling was used to include 100 peptic ulcer patients. Results: Sixty three percent of the patients were male and 37 % female. The majority of the patients were Malay (71 %) and mean age was 46 ± 9.7 years. The most frequently prescribed monotherapy antiulcer drugs were ranitidine (83 %) and omeprazole (17 %), while for combination therapy (with antacids), it was ranitidine (85 %). The average cost of anti-ulcer drug therapy was 15.54 Ringgit Malaysian (RM), i.e., (USD 4.98) for omeprazole and RM 4.62 (USD 1.48) for ranitidine. Conclusion: The practitioners in this study preferred to prescribe ranitidine much more frequently than omeprazole. Considering the cost burden of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and their relatively more adverse effects, this may be a cost-effective strategy, but the benefits of ranitidine in terms of therapeutic efficacy need to be ascertained. © Pharmacotherapy Group, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin, Benin City, 300001 Nigeria.