Utilization of oral Hhypoglycemic drugs in hospital provincial del Centenario, Santa Fe province, Argentina

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utilization of oral hypoglycemic drugs (OH) in a third level public hospital in Rosario (Argentina) in relation with the adherence to them and the blood glucose level (BGL) control in diabetic outpatients during 2008. A cross-sectional study was performed from prescriptions collected in the Hospital Pharmacy Service. Defined daily dose (DDD), and prescribed daily dose (PDD) were calculated. Possession ratio (PR) was used to estimate adherence to OH. There were traced BGL in Hospital Laboratory. DDDs: metformin: 22628.25, glibenclamide: 28010.00; PDDs: metformin: 1137.67 mg, glibenclamide: 9.11 mg. PR (means±SEM): metformin: 0.382 ± 0.013, glibenclamide: 0.334 ± 0.013. In patients with an OH, 22.4 % (CI 95 %:19.1-26.1 %) of them had a PR > 0.5. Among those having some glycemic control, the 51.6 % (40.9-62.3 %) had BGL higher than 140 mg %. It was found a subutilization of metformin compared to glibenclamide. PRs were considerably low. A great percentage of patients were inappropriate controlled. Precise diabetes control demands a better administration of health service resources. Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires