Factors influencing the prescribing patterns in acute watery diarrhoea

Two hundred sixty-two randomly sampled general physicians of Lahore were interviewed to study the current practices and factors affecting the management of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in children below 5 years of age. Among the physicians, 19% prescribed ORS alone, 61% ORS with some drug, 15% drugs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Pakistan Medical Association Vol. 47; no. 1; p. 32
Main Authors Choudhry, A J, Mubasher, M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Pakistan 01.01.1997
Subjects
Acute Disease
Antidiarrheals - therapeutic use
Child, Preschool
Consumer Behavior
Diarrhea - therapy
Drug Prescriptions
Family Practice - education
Female
Fluid Therapy
Humans
Male
Mothers
Pakistan
Pediatrics - education
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Practice Patterns, Physicians
Professional Practice
Professional-Family Relations
Rehydration Solutions - therapeutic use
World Health Organization
Pakistan
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Summary:Two hundred sixty-two randomly sampled general physicians of Lahore were interviewed to study the current practices and factors affecting the management of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in children below 5 years of age. Among the physicians, 19% prescribed ORS alone, 61% ORS with some drug, 15% drugs alone and 5% increased fluid intake only. Physicians in government sector, recent graduates and those trained in a paediatrics unit prescribed more on the WHO guidelines (p<0.05). Attending a diarrhoea training unit (DTU) course, reading WHO guidelines for management of diarrhoea and total number of patients seen daily had no significant effect on prescribing practices. Two hundred fifty-five (97%) physicians thought that majority of other physicians prescribed drugs for the management of acute watery diarrhoea to satisfy the mothers of the children, their belief in the effectiveness of drugs and competition in practice.
ISSN:0030-9982