title: The quality of prescription drug utilization five years after the 2003 Bam earthquake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Few reports considering drug use among earthquake survivors exist. The present study aims to examine the Bam earthquake's impact on prescribing patterns and drug use among residents five years post-disaster.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, 297,104 prescriptions, issued by general practitioners in Bam city in 2008, were investigated for drugs/prescriptions, drug name, drug category, using WHO appropriate general practice prescribing indicators.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean drugs per prescription was 3.1. Drugs affecting the central nervous system were the most frequently used among Bam residents, representing 25.1 per cent, followed by antimicrobials, respiratory, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal tract drugs. Benzodiazepines were the most frequently used central nervous system drugs (15.8 per cent) followed by narcotic analgesics and tricyclic antidepressants. Penicillins (6.4 per cent) and cephalosporines (2.3 per cent) were the most frequently used antimicrobial drugs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results emphasize increased drug use for psychological disturbances and the need for strategies to improve mental health among disaster survivors.
authors.affiliation: Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. gsepehri@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sepehri
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haj-Akbari
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sepehri
authors.forename: Motahareh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohsen-Beigi
mesh_terms: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004190:Disasters; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000145:classification / Q000639:trends*; D055866:Earthquakes; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents