European journal of clinical pharmacology
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jun 2002
Comparative StudyQuality of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescribing in Croatia (Rijeka) and Sweden (Stockholm).
We compared the utilisation pattern and cost of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Rijeka, Croatia and in Stockholm, Sweden using a newly introduced method for assessing the quality of drug use, i.e. to determine the number of drugs that account for 90% of the use and the adherence to evidence-based recommendations within this segment (the DU90% methodology). ⋯ Our study suggests that evidence-based medicine was not the leading impact factor in prescribing NSAIDs during 2000. A proportionally higher use of ibuprofen (at a daily dose of 1200 mg) and a reduced use of either piroxicam or ketoprofen would improve the NSAID GI safety profile in both countries. As previously shown for Sweden and some other countries, the DU90% methodology was found to be a useful method for assessing the general quality of NSAID prescribing in Croatia.