Anticancer Drugs Utilisation for Cancer Chemotherapy in a Nigerian Health Care Facility
Keywords:
Anticancer, Chemotherapy, Chemotherapeutic Agents, Drug Utilisation, Prescribed Daily Dose, Prescription PatternAbstract
Background: Evaluating drug utilisation in disease conditions like cancer is important to assess the past, keep track of the present and improve future practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the utilisation of anticancer drugs used for cancer chemotherapy in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Methods: This study used a retrospective cross-sectional design. Using systematic random sampling, prescriptions of anticancer drugs documented within fifive years (2014–2018) in the facility were reviewed. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics; mean, standard deviation and frequency.
Results: The most common cancer types in the facility were nasopharyngeal (n=99, 20%), breast (n=95, 19.2%) and cervical (n=69, 13.9%) cancers. There were 955 prescriptions containing 2,490 anticancer drugs translating to 2.6 drugs per encounter. The most utilised chemotherapeutic agents were cisplatin (n=418, 16.8%), doxorubicin (n=397, 15.9%), cyclophosphamide (n=311, 12.5%), fluorouracil (n=275, 11.0%) and paclitaxel (n=268, 10.8%). Doxorubicin+Cyclophosphamide+Paclitaxel (n=85, 8.9%) and Cisplatin+Fluorouracil+Paclitaxel (n=44, 4.6%) were the most common combinations. The mean prescribed daily doses (PDDs) per patient for the three most prescribed chemotherapeutic agents – cisplatin, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide were 65.6±18.9mg, 64.7±17.4mg and 754.8±226.9mg respectively. The average cost of chemotherapeutic agents per prescription was 26,275.8NGN (68.8USD) (as at 13/08/2020).
Conclusion: The most utilised anticancer drugs in the facility were cisplatin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, fluorouracil and paclitaxel. The average cost of chemotherapeutic agents per prescription was 26,275.8NGN (68.8USD) as at august 2020.These fifindings should be used by clinicians and policy makers to keep track of anticancer drug utilisation in the facility.
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