Evaluation of Drug Use Pattern in Pediatric Outpatient Clinics in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital Using WHO Drug-Prescribing Indicators

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic Characteristics of Patients Included in the Study Encounters (N= 1011)

Parameter	n (%)
Gender
o Males	595 (58.9)
o Females	416 (41.1)
Age
o Less than 1 year	67 (6.6)
o 1.0–4.9 years	265 (26.2)
o 5.0–9.9 years	295 (29.2)
o 10–14.9 years	295 (29.2)
o 15–17.9 years	89 (8.8)
Nationality
o Jordanian	992 (98.1)
o Others	19 (1.9)
Health insurance
o No insurance	36 (3.6)
o Governmental/ Ministry of health	776 (76.8)
o Private insurance	199 (19.7)
Physicians’ gender
o Male	202 (20.1)
o Female	808 (79.9)

Figure 1 Patient disposition in each subspecialty clinic (The total number of prescription is 1011).

Figure 2 Patients’ distributions based on the number of drugs per encounter (The total number of prescription is 1011).

Table 2 Prescribed Antibiotics Among the Study Sample (N= 205)

Drug Name	n (%)
Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid	72 (35.1)
Azithromycin	69 (33.7)
Fucidic acid	22 (10.7)
Cefixime	21 (10.2)
Metronidazole	6 (2.9)
Cefuroxime	4 (2.0)
Ciprofloxacin	3 (1.5)
Clarithromycin	2 (1.0)
Benzathine penicillin	2 (1.0)
Silver sulfadiazine	2 (1.0)
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole	1 (0.5)
Chloramphenicol	1 (0.5)
Total	205

Table 3 Prescribed Injectable Medicine Among the Study Sample (N= 108)

Drug Name	n (%)
Insulin	34 (31.5)
Botulinum toxin	20 (18.5)
Vaccines	20 (18.5)
Triptorelin	13 (12.0)
Glucagon	7 (6.5)
Diazepam	6 (5.6)
Levetiracetam	2 (1.9)
Benzathine penicillin	2 (1.9)
Ondansetron	2 (1.9)
Hydrocortisone	1 (0.9)
Somatropin	1 (0.9)
Total	108

Table 4 Drug Core Prescribing Indicators Identified for the Study Sample (N= 1011)

Parameter	Study Sample Value	WHO Standard Value	Standard Achievement
1. Average number of drugs per encounter	1.8 ± 1.3	<2.0	Yes
2. Percentage of encounters with antibiotics	19.5%	<30%	Yes
3. Percentage of encounters with injection	9.5%	<20%	Yes
4. Percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name	100.0%	100.0%	Yes
5. Percentage of drugs from essential drug list	47.8%	100.0%	No

Table 5 Comparison of the Drug Core Prescribing Indicators Between the Different Pediatrics Outpatients Clinic (N= 1011)

Parameter	Neurology	Respiratory	Endocrine	Gastrointestinal	Others	P value
	n= 341	n= 315	n= 141	n= 98	n= 116
1. Average number of drugs per encounter	1.3± 0.7	2.4± 1.7	1.4± 0.8	1.5± 0.7	2.1± 1.4	<0.001*^#
2. Percentage of encounters with antibiotics	16.8%	50.8%	5.6%	4.6%	22.3%	<0.001*^^
3. Percentage of encounters with injection	31.3%	14.6%	44.8%	2.1%	7.3%	<0.001*^^
4. Percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	—
5. Percentage of drugs from essential drug list	64.6%	42.3%	64.1%	34.2%	52.7%	<0.001*^#

Notes: Others: Include family medicine, cardiology, nephrology and newborn department, ^#Using ANOVA test, ^{^}Using chi-square test, *Statistically significant using 0.05 significance level.