An analysis of therapeutic, adult antibiotic prescriptions issued by dental practitioners in Jordan.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic adult antibiotics prescribed by dental practitioners working in the Jordan University Hospital.


METHODS
Adult dental prescriptions for therapeutic antibiotics issued between 1 January 2003 and 31 May 2004 by dental specialists working in the Jordan University Hospital were included in this study. Data included the name of the antibiotic as well as the dose, quantity and presentation of the drug. Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out.


RESULTS
Amoxycillin and metronidazole were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, with 60% of the prescriptions containing amoxycillin and 39.4% containing metronidazole. 20.4% of the prescriptions were combination prescriptions containing metronidazole. In this study, long courses were observed for amoxycillin (60.5%), cephalosporins (21%) and metronidazole (59.7%).


CONCLUSIONS
It seems that in the sample studied, Jordanian dental specialists have a tendency towards overprescribing antibiotics both in quantity and duration. This may constitute a problem particularly when considering the remaining sectors of less well-educated dental practitioners. The results will be used to increase awareness among dental practitioners in the field of antibiotic prescribing throughout the University of Jordan and the Jordanian Dental Association.
Department of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. najla_dar_odeh@yahoo.com
Najla Saeed
NS
Dar-Odeh
Osama Abdalla
OA
Abu-Hammad
Ameen Sameh
AS
Khraisat
Mohamed Ali
MA
El Maaytah
Asem
A
Shehabi
D000328:Adult; D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016208:Databases, Factual; D019230:Dental Audit; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; D008795:Metronidazole; D000658:Amoxicillin