Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 65 in total

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  1. Zaman Huri H, Hui Xin C, Sulaiman CZ
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86215.
    PMID: 24475089 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086215
    Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) patients are at risk of acquiring drug-related problems (DRPs), as it is present in the majority of aging men. To date, DRPs among BPH patients have not been well studied. We conducted this retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia from January 2009 to June 2012 with the aim of identifying the factors associated with DRPs among BPH patients. The Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe Classification Version (PCNE) 5.01 was used as a tool to classify DRPs. We enrolled 203 patients from 259 hospital admissions. A total of 390 DRPs were found and there was an average of 1.5±1.3 problems per hospitalization. 76.1% of hospital admissions included at least one DRP. The most common DRP categories encountered were drug choice problems (45.9%), drug interactions (24.9%), and dosing problems (13.3%). Factors such as advanced age (p = 0.005), a hospital stay of more than 6 days (p = 0.001), polydrug treatments (p<0.001), multiple comorbidities (p<0.001), and comorbid cardiovascular disease (p = 0.011), diabetes mellitus(p = 0.001), hypertension (p<0.001) and renal impairment (p = 0.011) were significantly associated with the occurrence of DRPs. These data indicated that the prevalence of DRPs is high among BPH patients. The identification of different subtypes of DRPs and the factors associated with DRPs may facilitate risk reduction for BPH patients.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization Review/statistics & numerical data*
  2. Lim R
    Oncology, 2008;74 Suppl 1:24-34.
    PMID: 18758194 DOI: 10.1159/000143215
    Within Malaysia's otherwise highly accessible public healthcare system, palliative medicine is still an underdeveloped discipline. Government surveys have shown that opioid consumption in Malaysia is dramatically lower than the global average, indicating a failure to meet the need for adequate pain control in terminally ill patients. Indeed, based on daily defined doses, only 24% of patients suffering from cancer pain receive regular opioid analgesia. The main barriers to effective pain control in Malaysia relate to physicians' and patients' attitudes towards the use of opioids. In one survey of physicians, 46% felt they lacked knowledge to manage patients with severe cancer pain, and 64% feared effects such as respiratory depression. Fear of addiction is common amongst patients, as is confusion regarding the legality of opioids. Additional barriers include the fact that no training in palliative care is given to medical students, and that smaller clinics often lack facilities to prepare and stock cheap oral morphine. A number of initiatives aim to improve the situation, including the establishment of palliative care departments in hospitals and implementation of post-graduate training programmes. Campaigns to raise public awareness are expected to increase patient demand for adequate cancer pain relief as part of good care.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data
  3. Kruger D, Dlamini NN, Meyer JC, Godman B, Kurdi A, Lennon M, et al.
    Hosp Pract (1995), 2021 Aug;49(3):184-193.
    PMID: 33566710 DOI: 10.1080/21548331.2021.1889213
    OBJECTIVE: Determining antimicrobial utilization patterns in hospitals can be a challenge given personnel and resource constraints with paper-based systems. A web-based application (APP) was developed in South Africa to address this, building on a recent point prevalence survey (PPS) using a paper-based system. Consequently, there was a need to test and evaluate the ease of use of a newly developed app and potential time saving versus paper-based methods for PPS. The findings can be used to further refine the APP.

    METHODS: The developed app was tested in a large academic public hospital in a PPS in South Africa. During data collection, the app was evaluated for functionality on 35 variables and subsequently refined. After data collection, the app was evaluated in terms of its time-saving potential and ease of use.

    RESULTS: 181 patient's files were surveyed across 13 wards in the hospital, with the antimicrobial usage findings similar to the previous paper-based study in the same hospital. The median age for males was 45.5 years and 42 years for females. Overall 80 out of 181 (44%) patients received antibiotics. Whilst 38% (12 out of 31) of patients in the adult surgical ward received antimicrobials, the prevalence was the highest (78%) in the pediatric medical wards. All the data collectors were confident in using the app after training and found the tool is not complex at all to use. In addition, the time taken to plan for the study and to collect data was considerably reduced. Reduced time spent in data collection and analysis is important for timely instigation of quality improvement programs in resource limited settings.

    CONCLUSIONS: All data collectors would recommend the app for future PPSs. Several concerns with data entry were identified, which have now been addressed. The app development has been successful and is now being deployed across South Africa as part of a national PPS as well as wider.

    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data
  4. Lim CM, Aryani Md Yusof F, Selvarajah S, Lim TO
    Eur J Clin Pharmacol, 2011 Oct;67(10):1035-44.
    PMID: 21499761 DOI: 10.1007/s00228-011-1025-4
    PURPOSE: We aimed to demonstrate the suitability of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification (ATC) to describe duplicate drugs and duplicate drug classes in prescription data and describe the pattern of duplicates from public and private primary care clinics of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    METHODS: We analyzed prescription data year 2005 from all 14 public clinics in Kuala Lumpur with 12,157 prescriptions, and a sample of 188 private clinics with 25,612 prescriptions. As ATC Level 5 code represents the molecule and Level 4 represents the pharmacological subgroup, we used repetitions of codes in the same prescription to describe duplicate drugs or duplicate drug classes and compared them between the public and private clinics.

    RESULTS: At Level 4 ATC, prescriptions with duplicates drug classes were 1.46% of all prescriptions in private and 0.04% in public clinics. At Level 5 ATC, prescriptions with duplicate drugs were 1.81% for private and 0.95% for public clinics. In private clinics at Level 5, 73.3% of prescriptions with duplicates involved systemic combination drugs; at Level 4, 40.3% involved systemic combination drugs. In the public sector at Level 5, 95.7% of prescriptions with duplicates involved topical products.

    CONCLUSIONS: Repetitions of the same ATC codes were mostly useful to describe duplicate medications; however, we recommend avoid using ATC codes for tropical products for this purpose due to ambiguity. Combination products were often involved in duplicate prescribing; redesign of these products might improve prescribing quality. Duplicates occurred more often in private clinics than public clinics in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization; Drug Utilization Review
  5. Phua VC, Wong WQ, Tan PL, Bustam AZ, Saad M, Alip A, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2015;16(4):1449-53.
    PMID: 25743814
    BACKGROUND: Oral capecitabine is increasingly replacing intravenous 5-fluorouracil in many chemotherapy regimens. However, data on the risk of febrile neutropaenia (FN) and treatment related death (TRD) with the drug remain sparse outside of clinical trial settings despite its widespread usage. This study aimed to determine these rates in a large cohort of patients treated in the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the clinical notes of all patients prescribed with oral capecitabine chemotherapy for any tumour sites in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) from 1st January 2009 till 31st June 2010. Information collected included patient demographics, histopathological features, treatment received including the different chemotherapy regimens and intent of treatment whether the chemotherapy was given for neoadjuvant, concurrent with radiation, adjuvant or palliative intent. The aim of this study is to establish the pattern of usage, FN and TRD rates with capecitabine in clinical practice outside of clinical trial setting. FN is defined as an oral temperature >38.5°or two consecutive readings of >38.0° for 2 hours and an absolute neutrophil count <0.5 x 109/L, or expected to fall below 0.5 x 109/L (de Naurois et al., 2010). Treatment related death was defined as death occurring during or within 30 days of last chemotherapy treatment.

    RESULTS: Between 1st January 2009 and 30th June 2010, 274 patients were treated with capecitabine chemotherapy in UMMC. The mean age was 58 years (range 22 to 82 years). Capecitabine was used in 14 different tumour sites with the colorectal site predominating with a total of 128 cases (46.7%), followed by breast cancer (35.8%). Capecitabine was most commonly used in the palliative setting accounting for 63.9% of the cases, followed by the adjuvant setting (19.7%). The most common regimen was single agent capecitabine with 129 cases (47.1%). The other common regimens were XELOX (21.5%) and ECX (10.2%). The main result of this study showed an overall FN rate of 2.2% (6/274). The overall TRD rate was 5.1% (14/274). The FN rate for the single agent capecitabine regimen was 1.6% (2/129) and the TRD rate was 5.4% (7/129). All the TRDs were with single agent capecitabine regimen were used for palliative intent.

    CONCLUSIONS: Oral capecitabine is used widely in clinical practice in a myriad of tumour sites and bears a low risk of febrile neutropaenia. However, capecitabine like any other intravenous chemotherapeutic agent carries a significant risk of treatment related death.

    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data*
  6. Kassab YW, Hassan Y, Aziz NA, Akram H, Ismail O
    J Eval Clin Pract, 2013 Aug;19(4):658-63.
    PMID: 22845427 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2012.01894.x
    RATIONALE: Despite the availability of various prevention guidelines on acute coronary syndrome (ACS), secondary prevention practice utilizing aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and statins still can be sub-optimal.
    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To review and document the utilization of pharmacotherapy for the secondary prevention of ACS in patients discharged from a Malaysian hospital.
    METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Penang, Malaysia. Patients with a primary diagnosis of ACS were identified from medical records over a 4-month period. A range of clinical data was extracted from medical records, including medical history, clinical presentation and pharmacotherapy both on admission and at discharge. This audit focused on the use of four guideline-recommended therapies: aspirin ± clopidogrel, beta-blockers, statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs).
    RESULTS: Data pertaining to a total of 380 ACS patients was extracted and reviewed, the mean age of the study population was 57.49 years and 73.9% of population was males. Patients with unstable angina accounted for 56.6% of the admissions whereas 23.4% and 20% of the patients were admitted for ST-elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation infarct respectively. 95.7% of the patients received antiplatelets comprising of at least aspirin, and 82% received aspirin plus clopidogrel. Furthermore, 80.3% of the patients received a beta-blocker at discharge, 95% a statin and 69.7% received either an ACEI or ARB. Compared with patients who presented with myocardial infarction (with or without ST-segment elevation), those presenting with unstable angina were less likely to receive the combination of aspirin plus clopidogrel or an ACEI/ARB at discharge. Patients over 65 years of age were also less likely to receive a beta-blocker at discharge, compared with younger patients.
    CONCLUSIONS: There is a good adherence to evidence-based guidelines for the secondary prevention of ACS in this local setting. However, there is some potential underutilization in the older population and patients presenting with unstable angina.
    KEYWORDS: acute coronary syndromes; evidence-based pharmacotherapy; secondary prevention; utilization
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data
  7. Teng CL, Tong SF, Khoo EM, Lee V, Zailinawati AH, Mimi O, et al.
    Aust Fam Physician, 2011 May;40(5):325-9.
    PMID: 21597554
    Background: Overprescription of antibiotics is a continuing problem in primary care. This study aims to assess the antibiotic prescribing rates and antibiotic choices for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and urinary tract infections (UTI) in Malaysian primary care.
    Method: Antibiotic prescribing data for URTI and UTI was extracted from a morbidity survey of randomly selected primary care clinics in Malaysia.
    Results: Analysis was performed of 1163 URTI and 105 UTI encounters. Antibiotic prescribing rates for URTI and UTI were 33.8% and 57.1% respectively. Antibiotic prescribing rates were higher in private clinics compared to public clinics for URTI, but not for UTI. In URTI encounters, the majority of antibiotics prescribed were penicillins and macrolides, but penicillin V was notably underused. In UTI encounters, the antibiotics prescribed were predominantly penicillins or cotrimoxazole.
    Discussion: Greater effort is needed to bring about evidence based antibiotic prescribing in Malaysian primary care, especially for URTIs in private clinics.
    Keywords: general practice, prescriptions, drug; upper respiratory tract infection; urinary tract infection; antibiotics, guideline; evidence based medicine
    Study site: Klinik Kesihatan, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data
  8. TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database (TApHOD), International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) Southern Africa Paediatric Group
    J Int AIDS Soc, 2011 Feb 09;14:7.
    PMID: 21306608 DOI: 10.1186/1758-2652-14-7
    BACKGROUND: To better understand the need for paediatric second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART), an ART management survey and a cross-sectional analysis of second-line ART use were conducted in the TREAT Asia Paediatric HIV Observational Database and the IeDEA Southern Africa (International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS) regional cohorts.

    METHODS: Surveys were conducted in April 2009. Analysis data from the Asia cohort were collected in March 2009 from 12 centres in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Data from the IeDEA Southern Africa cohort were finalized in February 2008 from 10 centres in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

    RESULTS: Survey responses reflected inter-regional variations in drug access and national guidelines. A total of 1301 children in the TREAT Asia and 4561 children in the IeDEA Southern Africa cohorts met inclusion criteria for the cross-sectional analysis. Ten percent of Asian and 3.3% of African children were on second-line ART at the time of data transfer. Median age (interquartile range) in months at second-line initiation was 120 (78-145) months in the Asian cohort and 66 (29-112) months in the southern African cohort. Regimens varied, and the then current World Health Organization-recommended nucleoside reverse transcriptase combination of abacavir and didanosine was used in less than 5% of children in each region.

    CONCLUSIONS: In order to provide life-long ART for children, better use of current first-line regimens and broader access to heat-stable, paediatric second-line and salvage formulations are needed. There will be limited benefit to earlier diagnosis of treatment failure unless providers and patients have access to appropriate drugs for children to switch to.

    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data*
  9. Teng CL, Hanafi NS, Ng CJ, Chia YC, Atiya AS
    J Paediatr Child Health, 2006 Oct;42(10):612-7.
    PMID: 16972968 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2006.00937.x
    AIM: Fever in children, a mostly benign and self-limiting illness, is often viewed with consternation by the care givers. It results in early consultation and excessive use of antipyretics and antibiotics. In this study, we document the prescribing practice of doctors from three primary care settings in Malaysia and identify the predictors of antibiotic prescription.
    METHODS: Interview of care givers bringing febrile children (age = 12 years) to three primary care settings: public primary care clinics, private general practice clinics and a university-based primary care clinic.
    RESULTS: Data from 649 children were analysed. Mean age of children 4.1 years and 55% were boys. One-third of the children had prior consultation for the same episode of fever. About 80% of the febrile children were diagnosed to have upper respiratory tract infection, viral fever and gastroenteritis. Overall antibiotic prescribing rate was 36.6% (public primary care clinic 26.8%, private general practice clinic 70.0% and university-based primary care clinic 32.2%). Independent predictors of antibiotic prescription were: clinic setting, longer duration of fever (>7 days), higher temperature (>38 degrees C) and the diagnosis of upper respiratory tract infections. After controlling for demographic and clinical factors, antibiotic prescription in private general practice clinic was seven times higher than public primary care clinic (odds ratio 7.1, 95% confidence interval 4.0-12.7), and 1.6 times higher than university-based primary care clinic (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.0-2.5).
    CONCLUSION: Differences in the patients' demographic and clinical characteristics could not adequately explain the high antibiotic prescribing rate in private general practice clinics. This inappropriately high antibiotic prescribing for febrile children in private general practice clinics is a suitable target for future intervention.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data
  10. Gul YA, Hong LC, Prasannan S
    Asian J Surg, 2005 Apr;28(2):104-8.
    PMID: 15851363
    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the appropriateness of antibiotic prophylaxis in selected elective surgical procedures in a tertiary referral centre.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study using retrospective data from January 2000 to May 2002 was performed pertaining to elective colorectal surgery, cholecystectomy and inguinal hernia repairs. Appropriateness of antibiotic administration was determined based on compliance with national and internationally accepted guidelines on prophylactic antibiotic prescribing policy. A single dose or omission of antibiotic administration was judged appropriate for cholecystectomy and inguinal hernia repair, while up to 24 hours' dosing was considered appropriate practice for colorectal surgery.

    RESULTS: Of 419 cases, there were 55 (13.1%) colorectal procedures, 97 (23.2%) cholecystectomies and 267 (63.7%) inguinal hernia repairs. Antibiotics were administered in a total of 306 (73%) cases, with single-dose prophylaxis in only 125 (41%) of these. Prophylaxis was inappropriately prolonged in 80%, 52% and 31% of colorectal, cholecystectomy and inguinal hernia cases, respectively. The corresponding mean duration of anti-biotic administration was 2.4+/-2.2, 1.6+/-1.8 and 1.1+/-1.3 days, respectively.

    CONCLUSION: Antibiotic prophylaxis in elective surgery continues to be administered haphazardly. This study supports close surveillance of antibiotic utilization by a dedicated team, perhaps consisting of microbiologists or pharmacists, to minimize inappropriate administration.

    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization Review*
  11. Bakrin FS, Makmor-Bakry M, Che Hon WH, Faizal SM, Manan MM, Ming LC
    Pharmacy (Basel), 2020 Dec 08;8(4).
    PMID: 33302438 DOI: 10.3390/pharmacy8040235
    INTRODUCTION: Drug utilization of analgesics in a private healthcare setting is useful to examine their prescribing patterns, especially the newer injectable cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors (coxibs).

    OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the utilization of coxibs and traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (tNSAIDs) indicated for postoperative orthopaedic pain control using defined daily dose (DDD) and ratio of use density to use rate (UD/UR).

    METHOD: A retrospective drug utilization review (DUR) of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at an inpatient department of a private teaching hospital in Seremban, Malaysia was conducted. Patients' demographic characteristics, medications prescribed, clinical lab results, visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores and length of hospital stay were documented. Orthopaedic surgeries, namely arthroscopy, reconstructive, and fracture fixation, were included. Stratified random sampling was used to select patients. Data were collected through patients' medical records. The DDD per 100 admissions and the indicator UD/UR were calculated with the World Health Organization's DDD as a benchmark. The inclusion criteria were patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery prescribed with coxibs (celecoxib capsules, etoricoxib tablets, parecoxib injections) and tNSAIDs (dexketoprofen injections, diclofenac sodium tablets). Data were analysed descriptively. This research was approved by the academic institution and the hospital research ethics committee.

    RESULT: A total of 195 records of patients who received NSAIDs were randomly selected among 1169 cases. In term of the types of orthopaedic surgery, the ratio of included records for arthroscopy:fracture fixation:reconstructive surgery was 55.4:35.9:8.7. Most of the inpatients had low rates of common comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease as supported by their baseline parameters. The majority were not prescribed with other concomitant prescriptions that could cause drug interaction (74.9%), or gastroprotective agents (77.4%). Overall, DDDs per 100 admissions for all NSAIDs were less than 100, except for parecoxib injections (389.23). The UD/UR for all NSAIDs were less than 100, except for etoricoxib tablets (105.75) and parecoxib injections (108.00).

    DISCUSSION: As per guidelines, the majority (96.9%) received other analgesics to ensure a multimodal approach was carried out to control pain. From the UD/UR results, the arthroscopy surgery was probably the most appropriate in terms of NSAID utilization.

    CONCLUSION: The prescribing pattern of NSAIDs except parecoxib was appropriate based on adverse effect and concurrent medication profile. The findings of this DUR provide insight for a low-risk patient population at a private specialized teaching hospital on the recommended use of NSAIDs for postoperative orthopaedic pain control.

    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization; Drug Utilization Review
  12. Chuah KH, Raja Ali RA, Hilmi IN
    Indian J Gastroenterol, 2020 06;39(3):261-267.
    PMID: 32613522 DOI: 10.1007/s12664-020-01044-9
    BACKGROUND: Alteration in the natural history of Crohn's disease (CD) since the advent of biologic therapy remains to be proven. Our aim was to look at the intestinal surgical rates and the association with biologic therapy over the last two decades.

    METHODS: This was a retrospective study in which all CD patients seen in two tertiary referral hospitals in Malaysia were recruited. Patients were stratified into two cohorts; cohort 1 was patients diagnosed from year 1991 to 2000 and cohort 2 was patients diagnosed from year 2001 to 2010. These time cohorts were selected based on initial availability of biologic agents in Malaysia in year 2000. Details of demography, disease location, medications and cumulative surgical rates over 7 years were recorded.

    RESULTS: A total of 207 patients were recruited: 70 from cohort 1 and 137 from cohort 2. Differences seen in terms of disease location, phenotype, and use of immunomodulatory therapy between the two cohorts were not significant. Patients who were ever exposed to biologics were significantly different between the two cohorts, approximately two times higher at 35.8% (n = 49) in cohort 2, and 18.6% (n = 13) in cohort 1, p = 0.011. There was a significant reduction in the 7-year cumulative intestinal surgical rates between cohort 1 and cohort 2, from 21.4% (n = 15) to 10.2% (n = 14), p = 0.028. However, there was no statistically significant difference in biologic exposure between those who underwent surgery and those who did not.

    CONCLUSIONS: There has been a significant reduction in intestinal surgical rates for Crohn's disease over the last two decades but does not appear to be associated with the increased use of biologics.

    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data*
  13. Leong CL, Buising K, Richards M, Robertson M, Street A
    Intern Med J, 2006 Jan;36(1):37-42.
    PMID: 16409311
    BACKGROUND: Aminoglycoside antibiotics are commonly prescribed for the treatment of Gram-negative infections. Appropriate dosing and therapeutic monitoring of aminoglycosides are important because these agents have a narrow therapeutic index.
    AIM: To audit gentamicin use at our hospital, focusing on selection of the initial dose and therapeutic monitoring practices, and to compare the results against recommendations in the existing hospital aminoglycoside guidelines, which had recently been promoted to doctors.
    METHODS: This audit included all inpatients receiving gentamicin at The Royal Melbourne Hospital from 1 February to 12 March 2004. The principal researcher checked the drug charts of all inpatients to identify those receiving gentamicin and collected data from the medical records and the pathology database. Doses were considered 'concordant' if the dose given was within the recommended dosing range +/-20 mg.
    RESULTS: A total of 132 courses of gentamicin was included in the study. Gentamicin was prescribed for prophylaxis in 31.1% of courses. Thirty-six per cent of patients prescribed gentamicin were more than 65 years of age. Eighty-two per cent of the gentamicin used therapeutically was given as a single daily dose. Sixty-six per cent of gentamicin initial dosing was not in accordance with existing hospital guidelines. Seventy-seven per cent of gentamicin courses requiring therapeutic drug monitoring received such monitoring; however, in only 8.8% of these was the monitoring conducted according to guidelines.
    CONCLUSION: Aminoglycoside prescribing practices at our hospital are suboptimal, despite ready access to prescribing guidelines. Provision of a guideline and education sessions with doctors do not necessarily lead to widespread adoption of recommended practices. We suggest that changes to hospital systems related to prescribing and monitoring of aminoglycosides are required.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization Review*
  14. Teng CL, Achike FI, Phua KL, Norhayati Y, Nurjahan MI, Nor AH, et al.
    Int J Antimicrob Agents, 2004 Nov;24(5):496-501.
    PMID: 15519484 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2004.06.015
    Antibiotic prescribing by primary care doctors has received renewed interest due to the continuing emergence of antibiotic resistance and the attendant cost to healthcare. We examined the antibiotic prescribing rate in relation to selected socio-demographic characteristics of the prescribers at the Seremban Health Clinic, a large public primary care clinic, designated for teaching, in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Data were obtained from: (1) retrospective review of prescriptions for the month of June 2002 and (2) a questionnaire survey of prescribers. A total of 10667 prescriptions were reviewed. The overall antibiotic prescribing rate was 15%; the rate (16%) was higher for the general Outpatient Department (OPD) than the 3% for the Maternal & Child Health Clinic (MCH). The antibiotic prescription rates for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) were 26% and 16%, respectively, for the OPD and MCH. Half of all the antibiotic prescriptions were for URTI making prescribing for URTI an appropriate target for educational intervention. The URTI-specific antibiotic prescription rate did not correlate with the prescribers' intention to specialise, patient load, perceived patient's expectation for an antibiotic, or the score for knowledge of streptococcal tonsillitis. Prescribing behaviours and record-keeping practices requiring correction were identified.
    Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data*
  15. Salman M, Khan AH, Adnan AS, Syed Sulaiman SA, Shehzadi N, Asif N, et al.
    Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl, 2017 5 26;28(3):517-523.
    PMID: 28540887 DOI: 10.4103/1319-2442.206451
    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients suffer from multiple comorbidities and complications as a cause or consequence of kidney disease. Information regarding medication- prescribing patterns in predialysis patients is sparse. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the medication prescription patterns among predialysis patients. Medical records (both paper based and computerized) of patients at CKD Resource Centre, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, were reviewed. A total of 615 eligible cases were included in the study. The mean number of medications prescribed per patient was 8.22 ± 2.81, and medication use was correlated to the renal function (stage 3a < stage 3b < stage 4 < stage 5; P <0.001). The top three prescribed medication groups were found to be lipid-lowering agents, calcium channel blockers, and antiplatelet agents. Some medication classes such as nonaluminum/noncalcium phosphate binders, erythropoietin-stimulating agents, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers, particularly in advanced stage, were found to be underutilized. In conclusion, predialysis patients are prescribed a large number of medications. Our findings highlight the need for assessing the impact of current medication-prescribing patterns on morbidity and mortality rates in Malaysian predialysis population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization Review/trends
  16. Lim VK, Cheong YM, Suleiman AB
    Singapore Med J, 1993 Dec;34(6):525-8.
    PMID: 8153716
    A prospective survey of antibiotic prescribing patterns in six Ministry of Health general hospitals in Malaysia was undertaken. Information on antibiotic prescriptions including the types of antibiotics used and the purposes for prescription was obtained through the use of questionnaires. A total of 1,918 antibiotic prescriptions were available for analysis. About two-thirds of prescriptions were for therapeutic purposes. The most common infections treated were lower respiratory infection (31%), followed by skin and soft tissue infection (17%), and urinary tract infection (8%). Only 20% of the therapeutic prescriptions were based on microbiological test results. Prophylactic prescriptions were issued for a variety of indications, the most common being toilet and suture of wounds. Only 5% of prophylactic prescriptions were of less than 3 days duration. There was great diversity in antibiotics and antibiotic regimens employed. It was evident that there was a lack of compliance with guidelines on antibiotic use issued by the Ministry of Health.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data
  17. Noordin NM, Merican MI, Rahman HA, Lee SS, Ramly R
    Lancet, 2008 Sep 27;372(9644):1149-50.
    PMID: 18926274 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61479-8
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization
  18. Lean QY, Shamsuddin N, Wan Ahmad WA
    Med J Malaysia, 2008 Aug;63(3):216-21.
    PMID: 19248693 MyJurnal
    There are well-established guidelines regarding the use of Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) in the management of heart failure (HF). In-spite of that, many studies has documented underutilization of ACEI. Thus, this retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the utilization of ACEI, to identify the pattern of ACEI use and the factors that might contribute to underutilization of ACEI. The target population was hospitalized HF patients in University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). Of 321 hospitalized HF patients, only 57% of them were treated with ACEI. 51.2% of the patients treated with ACEI received low dose (< or = 25% from target dose) at discharge. Factors that have significant association with the underutilization of ACEI included serum potassium and creatinine, chronic renal failure and other concurrent medications used (frusemide, aspirin, potassium chloride, calcium channel blockers and angiotensin receptor blockers). The findings indicated that the utilization of ACEI in the management of HF in UMMC is considerably low.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization
  19. Norsa'adah B
    Med J Malaysia, 2007 Jun;62(2):181.
    PMID: 18705463
    Principally, there are two problems in prescribing . They are prescribing decision and prescribing writing process, which contribute to 39% and 61% of prescription problems respectively. The first type of problem has more serious consequences and may even cause mortality. In that study, the issue is the appropriateness of prescribing antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). Over-prescribing of antibiotics in primary health care, especially for respiratory tract diseases is a problem worldwide . There are concerns about the rising prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, cost and the potentially harmful consequences of unnecessary prescription such as drug interaction and allergy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization
  20. Ong HT
    PLoS Med, 2006 Mar;3(3):e50.
    PMID: 16478294
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Utilization
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