EVALUATION OF DRUG INTERACTIONS OF NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS(NSAIDs) IN SARI INSURED PRESCRIPTIONS DURING 1999-2001

Due to humid climate of the North, inflammatory problems are very common in this area. Since non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) are the most widely used therapeutic agents, it seemed necessary to do an investigation on drug interaction and polypharmacy of these drugs. This descriptive study was carried out on 7327 insured prescriptions collected from 11 pharmacies in Sari during 1999-2001. Drug interactions were analyzed according to their clinical importance. Based on Hansten’s drug interaction, there were 1927 prescriptions that contained at least one NSAID(26.3%). 564 cases(46%) of drug interaction were seen in general practitioners’ prescriptions and 359 ones(50.9%) in specialists’. It was also found out that the most prescribed NSAIDs was Diclofenac, 45.52% in general practitioners’ and 34.22% in specialsts’ prescriptions. In spite of different dosage forms such as suppository, injection was preferred. Therefore, it can be concluded that concurrent use of NSAIDs with aminoglycosides, diuretics and prednisolone should be avoided or a suitable NSAID has to be selected. Furthermore, high prevalence of NSAIDs interactions in prescriptions emphasizes that a proper attention should be paid to practical pharmacology by general practitioners and specialists.