Prescription Analysis of short dosage forms of metformin as monotherapy or combined therapy in type II diabetes mellitus; pilot study

Abstract

This pilot study was done to evaluate the prescribing pattern of insulin and metformin in both monotherapy and combined therapy used in type II diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted at community pharmacies and the data was collected for a week. Results shows that total of 67 prescriptions were male 59.7% and 40.2% were female. Individuals of the 50-60 year age category was the most risk group having DM and were prescribed with twice a daily, thrice a daily doses of metformin. Different dosage forms were used but the monotherapy was the more frequent prescription in type II DM. The study specifically signified the importance of using the slow releasing dosage form of metformin instead of double dose.