{"title":"The Burden of Inappropriate Prescriptions and Predictors for Hospitalized Patients with Liver Cirrhosis in Ethiopia.","authors":"Tirsit Ketsela Zeleke, Zegaye Agmassie Bazezew, Rahel Belete Abebe","doi":"10.2147/HMER.S423351","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Pathophysiological alterations in liver cirrhosis affect how medications are metabolized and eliminated. Therefore, when prescribing medicines for patients with cirrhosis, appropriate prescription of medication is an accepted standard of practice. Since patients with cirrhosis require a complex therapy plan, it necessitates regular reviews of medication utilization. However, no research was conducted in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to figure out the predictors of inappropriate prescriptions and the pattern of prescription in patients with cirrhosis.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study design was carried out at Felege-Hiwot, a specialized and comprehensive referral hospital, from June 30, 2022, to November 30, 2022, in 123 hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Patients were recruited using a simple random sampling procedure, and data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. For the purpose of identifying determinants of inappropriate prescription, logistic regression analyses have been carried out and statistical significance was defined by a p-value of less than 0.05 and a 95% confidence range.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The burden of inappropriate prescriptions among patients with cirrhosis was 35.8%. An increased number of medications prescribed (AOR = 4.88 (1.05-22.68)), prescription by a general practitioner (AOR = 3.57 (95% CI 1.07-11.44)), increased level of bilirubin (AOR = 3.54 (95% CI 1.95-6.45)), and decreased level of albumin (AOR = 0.18 (95% CI 0.04-0.72)) were predictors for an inappropriate prescription.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>It has been found that there were inappropriate prescriptions among patients with liver cirrhosis. Prescribers should pay close attention to patients who have prescribed with higher number of medications, increased level of bilirubin and decreased level of albumin. Moreover, educational level of prescribers needs to be upgraded in order to adopt evidence-based medication prescriptions and adhere to recommended practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":12917,"journal":{"name":"Hepatic Medicine : Evidence and Research","volume":"15 ","pages":"129-140"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/67/65/hmer-15-129.PMC10542506.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Hepatic Medicine : Evidence and Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2147/HMER.S423351","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Pathophysiological alterations in liver cirrhosis affect how medications are metabolized and eliminated. Therefore, when prescribing medicines for patients with cirrhosis, appropriate prescription of medication is an accepted standard of practice. Since patients with cirrhosis require a complex therapy plan, it necessitates regular reviews of medication utilization. However, no research was conducted in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to figure out the predictors of inappropriate prescriptions and the pattern of prescription in patients with cirrhosis.
Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study design was carried out at Felege-Hiwot, a specialized and comprehensive referral hospital, from June 30, 2022, to November 30, 2022, in 123 hospitalized patients with cirrhosis. Patients were recruited using a simple random sampling procedure, and data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. For the purpose of identifying determinants of inappropriate prescription, logistic regression analyses have been carried out and statistical significance was defined by a p-value of less than 0.05 and a 95% confidence range.
Results: The burden of inappropriate prescriptions among patients with cirrhosis was 35.8%. An increased number of medications prescribed (AOR = 4.88 (1.05-22.68)), prescription by a general practitioner (AOR = 3.57 (95% CI 1.07-11.44)), increased level of bilirubin (AOR = 3.54 (95% CI 1.95-6.45)), and decreased level of albumin (AOR = 0.18 (95% CI 0.04-0.72)) were predictors for an inappropriate prescription.
Conclusion: It has been found that there were inappropriate prescriptions among patients with liver cirrhosis. Prescribers should pay close attention to patients who have prescribed with higher number of medications, increased level of bilirubin and decreased level of albumin. Moreover, educational level of prescribers needs to be upgraded in order to adopt evidence-based medication prescriptions and adhere to recommended practices.
期刊介绍:
Hepatic Medicine: Evidence and Research is an international, peer-reviewed, open access, online journal. Publishing original research, reports, editorials, reviews and commentaries on all aspects of adult and pediatric hepatology in the clinic and laboratory including the following topics: Pathology, pathophysiology of hepatic disease Investigation and treatment of hepatic disease Pharmacology of drugs used for the treatment of hepatic disease Although the main focus of the journal is to publish research and clinical results in humans; preclinical, animal and in vitro studies will be published where they will shed light on disease processes and potential new therapies. Issues of patient safety and quality of care will also be considered. As of 1st April 2019, Hepatic Medicine: Evidence and Research will no longer consider meta-analyses for publication.