Background: Fixed dose combinations (FDCs) are combinations of two or more active drugs in a single pharmaceutical formulation. The rationality of FDC is a controversial and challenging issue in today’s practice of medicine.
Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the prescription pattern and rationality of FDCs in a tertiary care hospital.
Materials and Methods: This is a record-based cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Pharmacology, Government Medical College, Thrissur. The data were collected from the case records of 183 patients admitted under various departments during the month of January 2019. The FDCs prescribed were listed and the prescription pattern was assessed. All the FDCs were evaluated for rationality with the help of a comprehensive seven-point criteria by Panda et al. The data were analyzed using Epi info 7. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.
Results: Out of 183 case records, 39.3% contained at least one FDC, 13.1% contained two FDCs, and 4.4% contained three FDCs. The different drug classes prescribed as FDCs include anti-infective drugs 45%, vitamins and minerals 33%, analgesics 9%, and miscellaneous drug combinations 13%. The most prescribed anti-infective drug FDC is amoxicillin with clavulanic acid combination (56%). In our study, 92.5% of the antibacterial FDCs prescribed were rational and 7.5% irrational. According to the World Health Organization rationality criteria, 62% of the FDCs prescribed were rational and 38% were irrational.
Conclusion: The present study showed the increased use of FDCs in tertiary care teaching hospital and most of the FDCs prescribed were rational (62%).
Key words: Fixed Dose Combination; Rationality; World Health Organization Essential Medicine List
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