Assessment of the Utilization Pattern and Related Knowledge about Topical Nasal Decongestants among the Users
Journal Title: Bengal Journal of Otolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery - Year 2018, Vol 26, Issue 3
Abstract
IntroductionNasal decongestants are one of the drugs commonly prescribed by otorhinolaryngologists in their day to day practice. The excessive or inappropriate use of nasal decongestant due to rapid symptomatic relief leads to drug misuse or abuse. Inadequate knowledge about the drug usage leads to inappropriate drug usage.Materials and MethodsA cross sectional study was done among 90 patients who were using topical nasal decongestants. A pre tested, pre validated questionnaire was used to assess the patient’s knowledge, the utilization pattern and the attitude towards the drug usage.Results The mean age of presentation in our study was 38.4 years. Only 14.4% of the people knew the appropriate duration of drug usage. Only 33.3% knew about the probable side effects of prolonged drug usage. There was a significant correlation between knowledge and utilisation pattern of topical nasal decongestants usage and the literacy level. Though most of the people (46.7%) started using the drug after being prescribed by a doctor, only 14.3% among them strictly adhered to doctor’s instructions.82% of the users were not much worried about the prolonged usage as 73.3% believed that prolonged use may or will surely improve their symptoms. Though 66.7% users wanted to stop prolonged usage of the drug, 76.9% had varying difficulties in stopping the drug. ConclusionThe knowledge and the utilization pattern regarding the drug usage were very low. The same was found to be better with increase in literacy level. Health professionals should play a major role in establishing a rational drug usage.
Authors and Affiliations
Valli Rajasekaran, Puja Ghosh
Migration of Ingested Fish Bone from Upper Aerodigestive Tract to the Skin of the Neck
IntroductionIngested foreign bodies commonly get impacted in the upper aero digestive tract, but only a few of these foreign bodies have perforated the oesophagus and an even smaller number of these have migrated extralu...
A Complicated Case of Foreign Body Oesophagus in an Infant
Ingestion of foreign bodies is common primarily in children, psychiatric patients, alcoholics and elderly people who use dentures. Selivanov et al. reported that, in most cases of foreign body ingestion, the most common...
Rare Cases in ENT
In our day to day ENT practice we commonly come across diseases involving the larynx, the oral cavity and the paranasal sinuses. These range from inflammatory disorders to benign and malignant neoplasms. Carcinomas invol...
Do Socio-Economic Factors Play a Role in Delayed Presentation of Complicated Chronic Otitis Media (Squamous)?
IntroductionThe influence of Socioeconomic (SE) status on delayed reporting and consequent complications in cases of Chronic Otitis Media-squamous (COMS) has been investigated.Materials and Methods This prospective obser...
Aberrant Thyroid in the Parapharyngeal Space
Introduction Aberrant thyroid is a mass of tissue having the structure of a normal or pathological thyroid gland and situated at some definite distance from normal thyroid, with which it has no connection. The prevalance...