Drug use profile in a Nigerian city hospital

The newly introduced WHO Drug Use Indicators enable the delineation of drug use patterns, identification of inappropriate use and evaluation of interventional strategies. This study highlights the drug use pattern in a city hospital and further identifies areas of inappropriate use that need to be addressed. Records of 614 patient encounters (January-December 1993) were obtained by systematic random sampling at the Central Hospital, Benin City. The WHO prescribing indicators were calculated and detailed review in various therapeutic categories was carried out. The average number of drugs per encounter was 3.7. The percentage of encounters with injection and antibiotics were 37.0% and 54.2% respectively. Forty-eight per cent of drugs were prescribed by generic name and 94.4% of all prescribed products were in the National Essential Drug List. Drugs were not prescribed in 2.8% of encounters. Of injections, 74.1% were for treatment of febrile illness, usually presumed to be malaria. Analgesics/antipyretics, mainly paracetamol, were prescribed in 72.3% of encounters. In 57.8% of encounters vitamin preparations were prescribed. Certain differences were observed between children and adults with children receiving more vitamins and antimalarials. These findings suggest some inappropriate use of drugs which may in turn reflect current practice throughout Nigeria. Proper case management of febrile illness is likely to promote more rational use of drugs.