A Review on Assessment on The Dispensing Pattern of Drugs in The Management of Respiratory Tract Infections

To address possible overuse, it is crucial to ascertain the current prescription of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections. A retrospective analysis was conducted of all prescriptions for URTIs among ten public primary healthcare centres in Kedah, Malaysia from 1st January to 31st March 2014.A total of 123,524 prescriptions were screened and analysed. Of these, 7129 prescriptions were for URTI, with 31.8% (n=2269) containing antibiotics. Macrolides were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic constituting 61% (n=1403) of total antibiotics prescribed. There was a statistically significant association between different prescribers and diagnoses (p=0·001) and a weak positive trend suggesting family medicine specialists are more competent in antibiotic prescribing, followed by medical officers and assistant medical officers (τ=0·122). Some prescriber’s prescription practices were at odds with the most recent recommendations, which promote the development of resistance. National antimicrobial stewardship programmes and further educational initiatives are ongoing in Malaysia to improve antibiotic use.