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Auditing hospital drug utilisation by means of defined daily doses per bed-day a methodological study

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Summary

The utilisation of hypnotics, sedatives, and minor tranquillisers (HSmT) was studied by means of drug-delivery and hospital occupancy statistics for 1975–1977 in a Swedish university hospital. A total of 0.53 so-called defined daily doses (DDD)/bed-day were delivered in 1975, implying that every second patient might have regularly been prescribed HSmT. The benzodiazepines were predominant with 71% of the deliveries. Five major drugs accounted for 88%. The drug pattern and the range of DDD/bed-day (0.09–1.18) differed considerably between the departments. Drugs not recommended by the hospital's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee accounted only for 3% of deliveries. In a drug surveillance study performed in two medical wards, HSmT were prescribed for 43% of 274 patients. Drug delivery and prescription data were in broad agreement. Drug information activities in the hospital had a clearly discernable influence on the delivered DDD/bed-day. This measure is an inexpensive indicator of drug utilisation in a hospital and a suitable basis for therapeutic audit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Huddinge University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden

    U. Bergman & B. -E. Wiholm

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden

    B. -E. Wiholm

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Huddinge University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden

    I. Christenson & B. Jansson

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  1. U. Bergman
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  2. I. Christenson
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  3. B. Jansson
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  4. B. -E. Wiholm
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Bergman, U., Christenson, I., Jansson, B. et al. Auditing hospital drug utilisation by means of defined daily doses per bed-day a methodological study. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 17, 183–187 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00561898

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00561898

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