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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

[Attitudes and practices in the Sahelian Tunisian population regarding drug usage].

Drugs occupies a strategic place in health care expenses. However, irrational practices characterize its utilization by all actors and particularly the population. The objective of this populational study is to identify attitudes and practices of the households of the sanitary region of Sousse (Tunisia) in the domain of medicine use. It is a descriptive survey concerning a representative sample of 402 households distributed in four localities (two urban, one semi-urban and one rural). Data have been collected through a questionnaire managed during an interview with the family's member (most often the chief of the household). We found that beliefs of the population are often erroneous (the expensive medicines are considered more efficient by 52% of interrogated persons and practices were often maladjusted (Self medication, insufficient compliance). A community mobilization via an education of health oriented by results of this exploratory survey would be an important component of the global strategy of promotion of the rational use of drugs in our country.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[Development and evaluation of an individuals-oriented information-provision system for outpatients--utility of "drug Usage sheets" and "Drug Information Cards" for patient consultation].

We have implemented an information-provision system for outpatients at the department of pharmacy, University of Tokyo Hospital, in order to comply with the revised Pharmacists' Law by which pharmacists have been obliged to provide patients with information necessary for rational usage of medicine at the time they receive dispensed drugs. This system is linked on-line with the order entry system to print "Drug Usage Sheets" containing important drug information such as therapeutic effects and adverse reactions, as well as photographic color views of drugs. We prepared the sheets by extracting and classifying the original information, and by converting medical terms into lay expressions. Moreover, we developed "Drug Information Cards" to inform each patient of severe side effects and drug interactions, which should affect drug compliance, and implemented an individuals-oriented information system using both the "Drug Usage Sheets" and "Drug Information Cards." In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of this system from the viewpoint of patients' recognition and understanding on necessary drug information. It was indicated from questionnaires to patients that the "Drug Usage Sheets" help most patients understand the names, usage, effects, and general cautions including slight adverse reactions (i.e. grade 1), and that the use of colored letters for important parts and pictograms is a useful method to attract more attention from patients as compared with a conventional method using only letters. Most patients answered that the "Drug Usage Sheets" can be utilized in many ways and valuable in taking drugs with assurance. We formulated the "Drug Information Cards" by information processing: separation of early symptoms of adverse effects into subjective and objective ones and their classification into related organs. Moreover, the brand names of drugs which may cause drug interactions have been listed on the cards so that worsening of adverse reactions and drug interactions can be avoided. Although 14% of the patients answered that they became unsecured when informed on side effects, the percentage of such patients was significantly higher with those who received caution-required drugs for the first time or who have experienced drug side effects before, suggesting the need for combining oral explanation based on each patient's background and understanding on drug adverse effects. In conclusion, an efficient provision of drug information became possible through our integration of necessary drug information in this study, and the individuals-oriented system of drug information was established, which was demonstrated to contribute to the rational usage of medicine.

Drug Information Services↗
PubMed1977

Drug usage and adverse drug reactions in paediatric patients.

The development of epidemiological methods for the study of adverse drug reactions is reviewed in connection with the presentation of data obtained by intensive monitoring of 1 000 admissions to a medical paediatric unit. Compared with adults and American children, the patients received fewer drugs and experienced fewer reactions while in hospital. The drug usage pattern was different from that of American paediatric practice and general practice in the United Kingdom. Fifty-one (6%) patients experienced 119 adverse drug reactions. These occurred more frequently in children suffering from serious disorders and in the majority of cases the basic therapy was continued regardless of the severity of the drug side-effects. Treatment was required for the effects of 66 (55%) adverse reactions. It appears that drug monitoring in paediatric practice may be of greater value if surveillance programmes are designed to provide a "therapeutic audit" and extended to include children receiving drugs in the community.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Using drug-usage evaluation to improve drug use.

Quality and the issues that surround its assessment and accountability are complex matters requiring thoughtful analysis and action. The translation of concept into practice evades most practitioners, because the detail of how to accomplish the transition has been missing. Drug-usage evaluation may not be the ultimate answer. The concept has inherent limitations. However, well constructed, systematic DUE programs that focus on enhancing patient care, establishing effective communication networks, and containing constructive intervention methods can help improve drug use. Drug-usage evaluation can be an important link between process and outcome evaluation. For pharmacists, DUE is an opportunity to use their expertise and existing clinical practice to begin to develop a pharmaceutical care system. Drug-usage evaluation is a step in the right direction. The profession should move decisively to play an active role in improving patient outcomes.

Drug Utilization↗
PubMed1976

State-of-the-art of drug usage review.

Drug usage review (DUR) studies reported in 16 medical, allied health and pharmaceutical journals from 1970 to 1975 are analyzed. The studies cited included systematic data collection of prescription orders and an evaluation of these orders on at least one of the following: daily dose, length of therapy or quantity dispensed, or appropriateness of the drug itself. Gaps in both content and methodology of the DUR programs were discovered, and methods for improving future studies are discussed.

Drug Evaluation, Preclinical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Computerizing drug usage evaluation.

Drug usage evaluation (DUE) has been computerized at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Coatesville, PA. This article describes the implementation of a simple, cost-effective process and provides examples of facility-wide and provider-specific reports that can be used at the time of reappointment for privileges. As a result of computerization and the involvement of all pharmacists, the number of drug reviews have increased dramatically, and there is more consistency in the reviews.

Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems↗
PubMed1993

Impact of drug usage review on drug utilisation.

Drug use review (DUR) programmes have been a component of efforts to improve prescribing practices in both the institutional and ambulatory care settings in various areas of the world. DUR provides the mechanism for developing standards, assessing current therapy, and implementing a specific intervention followed by reassessment of drug utilisation. A number of interventions aimed at improving drug prescribing practices have been included as components of the DUR process. At this time, face-to-face interaction with the prescriber has been shown to be the most effective intervention. However, DUR interventions have rarely been subjected to quality pharmacoeconomic evaluation. There is a need for future research to evaluate the effects of DUR programmes on overall healthcare outcomes.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1976

Drug usage review sample studies in long-term care facilities.

The usage of 10 drugs in five long-term care facilities was reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of a five-step systematic method of drug usage review. Medical care evaluation sample studies are required under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and drug usage review sample studies may satisfy this requirement. The five-step method involved selection of the health problem to be studied; development of criteria of care; measurement of specific performance data and comparison with the criteria; establishment of the audit committee evaluation process; and design and implementation of educational activities. In each facility, data were collected on abstract sheets designed to indicate when a patient's drug usage did not conform to criteria established by a committee of health professionals. Incidents of nonconformance were then examined. The largest number of exceptions to the criteria related to monitoring the effectiveness of drug therapy. Data by drug revealed higher nonconformance rates for digoxin, hydrochlorothiazide, methyldopa and thioridazine. A small number of exceptions was found in drug administration, indicating that the patients were receiving medications as ordered and that few errors were made in transcribing. This systematic approach to identifying drug usage patterns can be used by pharmacists to coordinate sample studies and to fulfill their consultant role in long-term facilities required by federal regulations.

Drug Therapy↗
PubMed1979

Fixed drug eruption: a lesson in drug usage.

Fixed drug eruption, a common finding in Lagos, was observed among patients being treated with two heavily promoted drugs: a pyrazolone analgesic and a benzodiazepine. Offending drugs should be considered in general classes rather than as individual compounds.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Longitudinally foretelling drug usage in adolescence: early childhood personality and environmental precursors.

Drug usage in early adolescence (age 14) was related to concurrent and preschool personality characteristics for a sample of 54 girls and 51 boys. The personality concomitants and antecedents of drug use differed somewhat as a function of gender and the drug used. At age 14, for both sexes, the use of marijuana was related to ego undercontrol, while the use of harder drugs reflected an absence of ego-resiliency, with undercontrol also a contributing factor. At ages 3/4, subsequent adolescent drug usage in girls related to both undercontrol and lower ego-resiliency. In boys, adolescent drug usage related strongly, during their nursery school years, to undercontrol and with resiliency having no long-term implications. Early family environment related to adolescent drug usage in girls but not in boys. Drug usage in adolescent girls was related to homes earlier identified as unstructured and laissez-faire, where there was little pressure to achieve. Drug usage related to other substance use and, in boys, to IQ decline from age 11 to age 18. Implications of these results for contemporary views regarding adolescent drug usage are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Drug newsletters and quality assurance of drug usage.

The use of a drug newsletter publishing results of drug usage review studies, as a quality assurance measure aimed at improving drug prescribing in an Australian acute care hospital, is described. Drug usage review studies focus primarily on newly registered drugs, drugs with potential for misuse or adverse reactions, and expensive drugs. Data are collected on comprehensive data sheets by clinical pharmacists. Information is supplemented from relevant sources, including laboratory test results. Feedback to prescribers, through the hospital's drug newsletter, presents review results, evaluated by comparison with predetermined standards for appropriateness, together with recommendations for improvement, where indicated. The reviews have highlighted areas in which prescribing could be improved. Studies have shown that the drug newsletter has a significant, but possibly transient, impact on modifying prescribing patterns. Newsletter messages are therefore reinforced by personalized clinical pharmacist interaction with prescribers.

Australia↗
PubMed1975

Addicted and nonaddicted drug users. A comparison of drug usage patterns.

Adetailed analysis of drug usage patterns of 101 multidrug-using soldiers disclosed little differentiation between individuals with a history of heroin addiction (N=68) from demographically similar multidrug-using (but nonaddicted) peers (N=33). Prior to the onset of herion addiction, relatively few differences in drug usage patterns emerged between the two groups, and what differences there were indicated more extensive drug use and a more rapid progression of drug use among the nonaddicted users. A "stepping-stone hypothesis" of heroin addiction is refuted by these data. Differences in drug use emerge after the intiation of heroin. Within a few months after first heroin use, those who did not become addicted returned to their preheroin experimentation levels of drug taking while the addicted group maintained an escalating pattern of opiate use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Drug usage in southern Brazilian hospitals.

A drug usage survey was carried out in 14 hospitals in the southernmost region of Brazil in the year 1979. The average number of drugs prescribed per patient was 8.6, and antimicrobials, followed by analgesics, vitamins and sedatives-tranquilizers were the most often employed drug categories. Among the antimicrobials, ampicillin was the first, followed by chloramphenicol, but the overall leading drug was an analgesic-antipyretic, dipyrone. Some possible distortions in drug usage are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Model for drug usage review in a hospital.

A five-component conceptual model for drug usage review is discussed as it applies to hospitals. The components of the model are: (1) authority, (2) operational and demographic characteristics of the delivery system and the population served, respectively, (3) the existing profile of drug usage, (4) standards of appropriateness and review of drug usage, and (5) scheme of evaluation to measure the impact of review. A drug usage review program in a hospital should: (1) improve the level of patient care and often reduce the cost of care, (2) improve the management and use of hospital resources, (3) clarify the drug component of patient care and better integrate pharmaceutical services with other hospital services, and (4) improve the fact-finding capacity that can help identify and solve hospital problems.

Drug Utilization↗
PubMed1976

The background pattern of drug usage in Australia.

The pattern of drug usage by urban populations has been studied in two typical Australian cities: Traralgon, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales. The study, lasting 1 year, involved questioning of 10% of the residents in households selected by random sampling and records of pharmacists. The questions related to state of health, recurrent or chronic disability, and drug exposures during 2 wk preceding the interview. Figures obtained from the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme (a system of partial federal subsidy) and the Morbidity Survey of the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners showed Australians to be near the top of the world's drug takers, in comparison for example with Americans: between 6 and 7 prescriptions per capita in Australia and between 4 and 5 prescriptions in the United States in 1973. The consumption of over-the-counter drugs (OTC) was estimated from the Commonwealth Statistician's figures by subtracting the expenditure for prescription drugs from the total annual chemist sales--$A450,000,000. This represents a cost of $A33.85 for every man, woman, and child. Of this amount $A19.07 was spent for OTC drugs, analgesics and cough suppressants being the two largest items. Roughly 60% of Australians average two or more doses of analgesics per day, with some patients consuming 12 or more doses a day. An association between this high consumption of analgesics and an alarming incidence of iatrogenic disease--analgesic nephropathy and gastrointestinal hemorrhage--is postulated. It is concluded that this level of drug usage must be symptomatic of underlying stresses and pressures of urban society in that country, along with a cultural factor of ready acceptance of the social use of drugs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Changes in antischistosomal drug usage patterns in rural Qalyubia, Egypt.

To investigate the usage of antischistosomal drugs in the Nile Delta, an antischistosomal drug history was obtained by interview from a sample of inhabitants of the villages of Halaba (1,024, or every 4th household) and Kharkania (505, or every 20th household), south-central Nile Delta. Only 3% and 0.4% of participants, respectively, in the 2 villages reported receiving antischistosomal drugs during the previous 4 years. Most villagers received oral compounds (praziquantel and niridazole), and the treatment regimen was completed by 95%. This study reveals changes in antischistosomal drug usage since a study 8 years earlier in the village of Halaba, when most of the drugs were injectable compounds.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1979

Drug usage in a western Australian rural community.

Drug usage in two agricultural shires, Kondinin and Kulin, was surveyed by questionnaire. Both prescription and over the counter (OTC) drugs were recorded together with age, sex, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and body weight, and 1284 people, or 55.8% of the eligible population over six years of age, participated. Approximately 35%, 53% and 12% of people said they were taking no drugs, one to two drugs and three or more drugs respectively, a result very similar to that found in an earlier urban study (Traralgon). The interaction of all five factors on drug consumption was studied jointly by multivariate analysis; FEV1, SBP and weight were normalised using standard tables. Prescription drug usage was directly related to obesity, respiratory impairment and sex (P less than 0.01) but not to age or SBP. People taking either OTC drugs or none at all differed only in sex, with females taking more than males (P less than 0.01). There were no differences in the factors studied between prescription only and prescription plus OTC drug users.

Adolescent↗