RATIONAL USE OF MEDICINES AMONGST ELDERLY DIABETIC PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

International Diabetes Foundation puts Nigeria's national diabetes prevalence rate at 3.9% in year 2013. Number of drugs per patient is the main factor associated with adverse reactions among elderly patients. Objective was to evaluate prescription pattern for elderly diabetic patients. This was descriptive prospective study of 150 case files of older patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and receiving treatment in the endocrinology clinic of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State. Data collected included socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of prescribed medications. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 16. P  0.05 was considered significant. Mean age of the group was 65.8±10.0 years. Metformin was the most frequently prescribed (81.3%) and in combination of other antidiabetics, the highest being that with Metformin+Pioglitazone+ Glimepiride (18%). The most commonly prescribed anti hypertensives was  lisinopril/Ramipril (50.0%). Mean number of drugs per prescription was 6.0. Patients mostly encountered a range of 5-7 drugs per prescription (63.3%). Drugs prescribed in generics and from essential drug list were significantly lower than the recommended WHO values (p >0.05). The findings indicate that the prescribing pattern could be said to be in compliant with our treatment guidelines although not in line with WHO's recommendations.