The situation of drug use in type 2 diabetes outpatients at Gia Dinh People's Hospital

Abstract

     The safe, rational, and effective use of medications plays a crucial role in glycemic control among outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aimed to determine the frequency of medications used and to identify common drug interactions in the outpatient treatment of T2DM. A cross-sectional descriptive design was applied to prescriptions meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria for patients diagnosed with T2DM. Results showed that the majority of patients were female (58.5 %), with a mean age of (64.82 ± 10.50) years. The rate of combination therapy was high (67.1 %), most commonly involving two-drug regimens (41.5 %). The proportion of prescriptions with potential drug interactions was high, based on both Drugs.com (83.8 %) and Medscape.com (82.4 %), with most interactions classified as moderate. The discrepancies between the two databases highlight the importance of using multiple sources when screening for drug interactions to ensure safe and effective pharmacotherapy in T2DM outpatients.