farmacia

ARTIGO ARTICLE

Prescrição de antimicrobianos em unidades de saúde da família no Sul do Brasil
Antimicrobial prescription in family health units in Southern Brazil

Noemia U. L. Tavares 1,2
Andréa D. Bertoldi 3
Ana Luiza Muccillo-Baisch

1

Abstract
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde,
Universidade Federal do
Rio Grande,
Rio Grande, Brasil.
2 Centro de Ciências da
Saúde, Universidade da
Região da Campanha,
Bagé, Brasil.
3 Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva,
Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo,
Brasil.
1

Correspondência
N. U. L. Tavares
Curso de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde,
Universidade da Região da Campanha.
Av. Tupi Silveira 2099, Bagé,
RS 96400-000, Brasil. [e-mail] Introdução

This paper describes antimicrobial prescription, clinical indications, and seasonal characteristics in primary health care. We performed a cross-sectional study in family health units in Bagé, Rio
Grande do Sul State, Brazil, in July 2005 and January 2006. All medical prescriptions (n = 2,877) were analyzed, and the prevalence rates for antimicrobial prescription in winter and summer were 30.4% (95%CI: 28.5-32.4) and 21% (95%CI:
19.1-22.9), respectively. The most frequently prescribed antimicrobials were amoxicillin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. The main clinical indications for antimicrobial prescription were non-specific upper respiratory tract infections
(22.5%), throat infections (20.8%), urinary tract infections (13.3%), otitis (8.5%), and sinusitis
(7.5%). We observed differences between summer and winter in prescriptions for the same diseases.
Seasonal differences between treatment profiles for the same diseases show the absence of a consistent antimicrobial prescription pattern in primary health care, contrary to World Health Organization guidelines, which advocate the establishment of protocols for antimicrobial use at all levels of care, as a strategy to