The Outpatient Use of Furosemide in a Public Hospital
Nehad J. Ahmed *
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aim: The prescribing pattern of furosemide helps the prescribers in the monitoring and evaluation of the drugs and helps them in recommending the necessary modifications. So the aim of the present study is to demonstrate the outpatient use of furosemide in a public hospital.
Methodology: This is a retrospective study was conducted in a public hospital in Alkharj city. The outpatient prescriptions were reviewed to demonstrate the prescription patterns of furosemide. The study included all outpatient prescriptions that contains furosemide in 2018.
Results: Furosemide was prescribed in 46.27% of diuretics prescriptions in the outpatient setting. The majority of the patients were female patients. Most of the patients were more than 39 years old. Most of the furosemide prescriptions were prescribed mainly by resident prescribers, mainly in the cardiology department.
Conclusion: Furosemide is an important medication for treating cardiovascular diseases specially in the presence of edema. It is important to increase the awareness of health care professionals and patients regarding the use of furosemide. Moreover, it is important to increase the awareness of the public regarding the importance of adherence to furosemide.
Keywords: Outpatient, use, prescribing, furosemide