A DRUG UTILIZATION STUDY INVESTIGATING PRESCRIBED DAILY DOSES OF HYPOLIPEMIC AGENTS

Objectives. To estimate average prescribed daily doses (PDDs) for sele cted hypolipidaemic agents available on the South-African market. Comp arison of the estimated PDDs with established DDDs (defined daily dose s) and international dosage ranges, To investigate the age and gender of the users of the different hypolipidaemic drugs and drug groups. De sign. Retrospective drug utilisation study using data from an organisa tion involved in the pre-certification of chronic medication. Setting. Doctors and patients in South Africa. Participants. A total of 2 336 patients of various medical aids who were using cholesterol-lowering m edication on a chronic basis. Outcome measures, The PDDs, for the comp lete sample and for the age and gender groups. Results. More than 90% of all hyperlipidaemic patients in the study were treated with HMG CoA reductase inhibitors or fibrates. The average PDDs for the three most frequently prescribed lipid-lowering drugs were 414.4 mg for bezafibr ate, 12.5 mg for pravastatin and 12.6 mg for simvastatin, The PDDs wer e on average lower than the established DDDs, Differences were observe d in the pattern of lipid-lowering drug prescriptions for women and me n, Male users were on average 3.9 years younger than female users, Con clusions. The PDDs used in the patient population studied were within locally and internationally acceptable dosage ranges, but were general ly lower than established DDDs for lipid-lowering drugs, Prescription differences exist between female and male patients and between age gro ups with regard to chronic medication, Further studies should be condu cted to investigate hypolipidaemic drug prescribing in patients who ar e not on chronic medication.