Prescription Pattern of Antibiotics among Physicians in a Secondary Health Facility in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: This study was aimed at assessing the prescription pattern of antibiotics by physicians in Federal Staff Clinic, Abuja: A secondary health care facility in Nigeria. Study Design: It was a descriptive cross sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Federal Staff Clinic, Abuja, Nigeria between August 2012 and February 2013. Methodology: A total number of 1022 prescription sheets containing 1648 prescribed antibiotics were obtained retrospectively and examined. Results were analysed using SPSS version 15 and presented in form of descriptive statistics. Results: Results showed that Amoxicillin was the most prescribed antibiotic followed by Metronidazole (31.79% and 27.37% respectively). The mean number of antibiotics prescribed per prescription was 1.61± 0.55. The drug per prescription ranged from 1 to 9 with a mean of 3.04± 1.51. About Ninety five percent of the antibiotics were prescribed correctly in terms of frequency and duration of use. Only 21.2% of the antibiotic was prescribed in generic name. Almost all of the antibiotics were prescribed in oral form