Assessment of Prescription Pattern in Paediatric Patients Using WHO Indicators

Irrational drug prescription leads to ineffective treatment, occurrence of adverse effects, prolonged duration of illness and suffering to patient, and an increased economic burden to society. Since children are more vulnerable than adults, it is crucial that principles of rational prescription are strictly adhered to. A prospective, observational study was conducted in department of Pediatrics for a period of 2 months. The main objective of the study is to assess prescribing pattern among pediatric inpatients using WHO prescribing indicators. A total of 100 inpatients aged 1-12 years were enrolled. Majority of them were male (71 %). The most commonly prescribed drugs were Antimicrobials (22.7%), antiemetic and antiulcer (15.3% each) and analgesics (14.5%).Average number of drugs per encounter was 6.54. Percentage of antibiotics prescribed was 22.7, inject tables prescribed were 73.8. Drugs prescribed in generic names and from EML were 8.56 and 77.5 % respectively. The findings of this study reveal that drug utilization pattern was not optimal in accordance with the standard values of WHO prescribing patterns. Although, usage of antibiotics was in compliance to WHO recommended standards, there is a need to improve prescription pattern by generic name and drugs from Essential Drug List.