DRUG UTILIZATION PATTERN FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PAIN - A COMMUNITY BASED SURVEY IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN Research Article

To assess the pattern of analgesic use by self-medication in Karachi, Pakistan. A self-constructed, prevalidated questionnaire with close ended items was administered on the local residents of Karachi, Pakistan. The study was conducted from March 2011 to February 2012. The participants of the study were placed in different groups based on the type of conditions in which they had acquired and utilized the analgesics. The use of medications in common clinical conditions such as headache, fever and dysmenorrhea was partially assessed based on the severity and occurrence reported by the participants. The Comparative plot of analgesic utilization in different clinical conditions by self-medication shows that 32% analgesics are used in Acute Fever, whereas the minimum amount of analgesics 1% are used in Low Grade Persistent Fever. Paracetamol is used most frequently in all the clinical conditions (60.87% in Acute Headache), preceded by Mefenamic acid (25% in Mild Dysmenorrhea), Ibuprofen (12.50% in Low Grade Fever), Aspirin (25%in Migraine), Hyoscine (26.76% in Mild Dysmenorrhea), Tryptans (9.78% in Migraine) and Diclofenac Na (12.50% in Persistent Fever).Irrational drug use by self-medication in symptoms of Dysmenorrhea, Headache & Fever is prevalent in local residents of Karachi.