Abstract

Purpose: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic condition that can have a major impact on life expectancy and quality of life, especially if undetected or poorly controlled. Glycaemic control and management of co-morbid conditions and diabetes complications are alarmingly sub-optimal and perhaps one of the worst conditions in the world. This study aimed to assess the utilization pattern of antidiabetic medications in Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital (HFSUH). Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from April 1 to May 31, 2014 and data were collected using structured questionnaire and data collection format. The data were entered and analyzed with the help of SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics was used for most variables and Chi-square test was used. Resultsá¡ A total of 296 diabetes patients were involved in this study, 42.6% and 57.4% were males and females, respectively. Large proportion of the patients (42.4%) was unable to read and write. Majority of the respondents (64.9%) were from urban. Two hundred and twenty three (75.3%) of the respondents were diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. Almost all patients were on pharmacological therapy at the time of the study. Among those who were on pharmacological therapy, majority of them (42.9%) were taking insulin. Conclusionsá¡ The most prescribed antidiabetic medication was insulin, followed by glibenclamide and metformin, respectively. More than half of the patients used two syringes for monthly consumption. Most of the patients rotated major injection site and some of them also injected on lipodystrophied site. The incidence of microvascular complication was higher. What this study adds: It adds on the current trend of utilization of antidiabetic medications as well as indicates the widespread of diabetes in the study setting, which will be a baseline for the government and different stakeholders to intervene. What is already known about this subject: In the study setting, such a study has never been conducted.

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