Eurodurg Meeting 2001
"Integrating drug utilization studies in wider Europe"

7-9 June, 2001, Prague, Czech Republic
page # 32

Patterns of drug prescribing in adults with acute otitis media and acute sinusitis (AS)

S. KOZLOV, A. BELIKOV, E. KAMANIN

Smolensk State Medical Academy, Russia

BACKGROUND

As acute otitis media (AOM) and acute sinusitis (AS) are common causes of morbidity and health-service cost worldwide its appropriative management is of great importance.

OBJECTIVE

To find out the patterns of drug prescribing to adults with AOM and AS in outpatients and inpatients departments in western region of Russia.

METHODS

Case histories of outpatients (OP) and inpatients (IP) with AOM and AS applied for the medical service in 1998-2000 in western region of Russia were randomly selected for retrospective evuluation. Drugs were classified according to ATC-codes.

RESULTS

204 case histories of adult patients with AOM and 196 case histories with AS were included in the study. The most often prescribed drugs were antimicrobials for systemic use (J01). They were taken by 94,1% of IP and 76,1% of OP with AOM, and by more than 83,5% patients with AS. The other commonly prescribed groups of drugs were: to IP with AOM - calcium drugs (A12) (82,2%), antihistamines (R06) (67,3%), analgesics (N02) (39,6%); to OP with AOM - intranasal drops (R01) (47,6%), intraauricular analgesic drops (S02) (38,8%), calcium drugs (A12) (23,3%), antihistamines (R06) (20,4%); to IP with AS - calcium drugs (A12) (76,7%), antihistamines (R06) (45,6%), intranasal drops (R01) (32,0%); to OP with AS - intranasal drops (R01) (68,8%), antihistamines (R06) (45,6%) (52,7%), calcium drugs (A12) (46,2%). The most common prescribed antimicrobials for OP was doxicycline (AOM - 26,5%, AS - 35,8%) and for IP - benzathine penicillin (AOM - 41,2%, AS - 53,4%). Ampicillin was on the second place among antimicrobials used in AOM (OP - 15,7%, IP - 11,4%) and IP with AS (9,7%), and amoxycillin - in the treatment of OP with AS (11,1%). Other relatively frequently prescribed antimicrobials were cephazoline (OP with AS - 9,9%), lincomycin (OP with AS - 9,9%), benzylpenicillin (IP with AOM - 9,7%), ofloxacin (IP with AOM - 7,9%), cephalexin (OP with AS - 7,4%; OP with AOM - 7,2%) and co-trimoxazole (IP with AOM - 7,0%).

CONCLUSIONS

Systemic antimicrobial therapy was prescribed to majority of adult patients with AOM and AS. But the selection of antimicrobials and route of its administration were inadequate in many cases. Too many OP took parenteral prescribings of antibiotics. Additional non-antimicrobial therapy with no proven efficacy in AOM and AS was not uncommon.