Naslov
Medication Prescribing Practices in Croatian Dental Offices and Their Contribution to National Consumption
(Medication Prescribing Practices in Croatian Dental Offices and Their Contribution to National Consumption)

Autori
Šutej, Ivana ; Lepur, Dragan ; Božić, Darko ; Pernarić, Katja

Izvornik
International dental journal (0020-6539) 71 (2021), 6; 484-490

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Prescribing ; Consumption ; Dental medicine ; Antibiotics ; Analgesics ; Medications

Sažetak
Objectives:The objective of this study was to analyse the pattern of medication prescribingamong dental practitioners in the Republic of Croatia and to compare it with general medi-cal practice patterns at the national level.Methods:Data on drug prescriptions were obtained from the Croatian Health InsuranceFund. The number of dentist prescriptions, the cost of medicine denominated in thenational currency (Croatian Kuna [HRK]), and the number of packages and days prescribedhave been included in the analysis.Results:Results indicate that there was an increase in medication prescribing(+5.7%) by den-tists, with antimicrobials comprising the majority, whereas national medical antimicrobialprescribing had slightly decreased. Antibiotics accounted for 80% of all dentists’ prescrip-tions, with penicillins being the most commonly prescribed. In particular, amoxicillin withclavulanic acid accounted for 56.4% of all antibiotics prescribed. Such broad- spectrum anti-biotics were prescribed more frequently than those of narrow-spectrum. Antibiotics werefollowed by nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs, with prescribing frequency for ibuprofenincreasing by 75%.Conclusion:Current trends show an increase in the overall prescription rate for all medica-tions prescribed by dentists. The largest increase was observed for the broad-spectrumamoxicillin with clavulanic acid, and ibuprofen. As the apparent widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics by dentists in Croatia is in contrast to national and international rec-ommendations for antibiotic stewardship, there is a need for further prospective investiga-tion and possible provider education and guidelines.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kliničke medicinske znanosti, Dentalna medicina

POVEZANOST RADA