Drug prescribing pattern of antifungal drugs for local fungal infections in a tertiary care hospital: MAMC, Agroha

Background: Drug utilization research or studies are the powerful exploratory tools to ascertain the role of drugs in the society which refers to the marketing, distribution, prescription and use of drugs with special emphasis on the medical, social and economic consequences. Periodic prescription audit in form of drug utilization study is a way to improve the quality of prescription and promote rational prescribing. Methods: This was a prospective and an observational study. Prescriptions included all newly diagnosed patients with cutaneous fungal infection of both sexes who attended dermatology OPD. Factors considered were sociodemographic parameters and WHO prescribing indicators. Results: 1000 prescriptions were analysed of patients between 18 to 65 years of age with cutaneous fungal infections. The average number of drugs per encounter was 3.68. The percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was 50.33% and the percentage of drugs prescribed from NLEM was 20.93%. Conclusions: This study indicates that prescribing practices of drugs in tertiary care hospital can be improved by promoting generic name drug prescribing, prescribing drugs from NLEM and by reducing polypharmacy.