DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i05.033

Pages: 1853-1858

Aim: This study was carried out in order to report the prescribing pattern of drugs used in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) among Jordanian patients who receive their medical care at Royal Rehabilitation Center in Royal Medical Services (RRC/RMS) Amman/Jordan during the period from October 2013 to March 2014, in addition, we evaluated if the pattern of prescriptions of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) used is rational and was it in accordance with international guidelines for management of RA. Methodology: A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted in the out-patient pharmacy of the RRC/RMS. RRC is a tertiary care hospital which receives RA referrals from other clinics and hospitals; it covers 15 rheumatology subspecialty clinics weekly and is directed through specialist and consultant physicians. Inclusion criteria include all the prescriptions with the diagnosis of RA that were dispensed from the pharmacy during the period of October 1st 2013 till March 31st, 2014, or any prescription that contain at least one DMARD for patients whom ages are ≥18 years. These prescriptions were studied and analyzed for the number of drugs in the prescription, name of the drug, dose, and frequency. The demographic profile of the patients regarding age and sex was also obtained from the prescription. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical package for social science SPSS version 17. The study had been ethically approved from the ethical committee in the Directorate of Royal Medical Services. Results: There were a total of 800 prescriptions for DMARDs during the study period, 557 were female patients and 243 were for male (F: M ratio =2.3:1) with ages ranging from 18-82 year (mean 49.2 ± 5.8 year). The distribution of age was such that the highest percentages (46.3%) of patient were between the age group of 40-60 followed by 38.5% above 60 years. The overall average number of drugs per prescription was 6.41 ranging from 1-8 drugs. A