DOI: njcpt.com.ng/101.1.2.8
Corresponding author: Ubong S. Ekperikpe;
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
University of Mississippi Medical Centre
Contact email: ekperikpeubong@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Background: Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) help drug manufacturers disseminate essential information to the public. Every patient deserves the right to adequate information about any drug to be administered to them for any condition. Unfortunately, antibiotics are commonly misused and are largely available without prescription in Nigeria.
Therefore, all patient education methods should be maximised to prevent antimicrobial resistance caused by indiscriminate use due to ignorance.
Objective: To assess the quality of antibiotic Patient Information Leaflets written by Nigerian companies in selected cities.
Methods: The antibiotics, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin were chosen for this study because of their frequent consumption and misuse among the Nigerian populace. Local brands of these drugs were obtained from 5 different states in Nigeria, and their quality was assessed using the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) guideline as criteria.
Results: Most PILs were written in one language (English). Diagrams and pictorial illustrations were not commonly used in PILs assessed. Ciprofloxacin brands had a mean leaflet score of 83 %, and tetracycline brands had 76.5 %. In statistical comparison, both drugs had no significant average difference (p>0.05). However, tetracycline brands had lower quality as they had a less satisfactory mean score.
Conclusion: The PILs performed satisfactorily but require improvement, as health education promoting materials should always contain sufficient information to optimise pharmaceutical care.
Keywords- Antibiotics, Patient Information Leaflets, Quality Assessment, Compliance.