Abstract

The present prospective study was conducted in order to establish the drug-prescription trend of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs in the management pattern of osteoarthritis at Panjab University Health Centre, Chandigarh, India. The study was carried out in between the months of November 2003 and March 2004. Data was collected from outpatients who visited Panjab University Health Centre. WHO based prescription-auditing performa was used for data collection. Demographic analysis of this prospective and observational study revealed that out of 84 patients most were females (63.1%) and maximum patients were in the age group of 40-60 (59.5%). Most of the patients at Panjab University Health Centre had primary generalized Osteoarthritis with the back (50%) being the site most commonly affected followed by knee (45.23%) and hips (14.3%). Pain and joint stiffness was the common feature of the clinical presentation. Non-Steroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs were mostly prescribed during the observation period predominantly for pain relief. The most commonly prescribed agents were nimesulide, paracetamol, diclofenac and ibuprofen. Mostly the drugs were administered in the tablet form (86.05%) with least use of gels/creams and capsules. The use of non-drug therapies including physiotherapy and exercise was least found. The present study represents the current prescribing trend of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs for osteoarthritis at Panjab University Health Centre and it also suggested that there is still considerable scope for improvement, particularly in prescribing non-drug therapies and improving dispensing habits.