title: Anti-tuberculous drug prescribing: doctors' compliance at a private teaching hospital in Pakistan.
abstract: An adequate and appropriate anti-TB drug prescription is of crucial importance in order to "cure" a TB patient of his or her disease. This study looked at the prescribing habits of doctors working in a private teaching hospital of Pakistan. The results showed that the majority of doctors (79%) were choosing the correct four-drug regiment of RHZE in the intensive phase, as recommended in the National Guidelines. However, the dosage of some drugs were below the recommended ranges (43% of prescriptions for Pyraizinamide and 48% for Ethambutol). Regular audit of doctors' prescriptions is necessary in order to ensure that the National TB Guidelines are fully implemented by physicians working in the private sector of Pakistan.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, PO Box 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan. javaid.khan@aku.edu
authors.forename: Javaid A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: S Fayyaz
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Hussain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents