Medications' Prescribing Pattern in the General Surgery Outpatient Department

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the drugs’ prescribing pattern in general surgery department of a public hospital in Alkharj.

Methodology: The present retrospective study included collecting data from the general surgery outpatient pharmacy prescriptions from a public hospital in Alkharj from 1st of June 2018 to 31th December 2018.

Results: The total number of outpatients who received prescriptions from general surgery outpatient department was 319. Most of them were males (52.35%) and aged less than 50 years (79.31%). Most of the prescriptions were written by residents (47.02). The most prescribed medication was paracetamol (21.32%) followed by amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (12.85%), ciprofloxacin (12.85%), and metronidazole (6.27%).

Conclusion: The study showed that antibiotics and analgesics were the most commonly prescribed drug classes in outpatient surgery department. Continuous monitoring for the prescribing of these drugs is essential to increase the wise use of these medications. More awareness workshops and educational programs for surgeons are needed for the prescribing of these drugs.