ArticleGlobal health research and policy2017
Assessment of the availability and rationality of unregistered fixed dose drug combinations in Nepal: a multicenter cross-sectional study.
Article in Global health research and policy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Practice of self-medication to manage oral health issues in a community setting of Nepal.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- A national survey on registered products, availability, prices, and affordability of 100 essential medicines in community pharmacies across Sri Lanka.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Not recommended fixed-dose antibiotic combinations in low- and middle-income countries - the example of Tanzania.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2023Review
- Trends of Fixed-Dose Combination Antibiotic Consumption in Hospitals in China: Analysis of Data from the Center for Antibacterial Surveillance, 2013-2019.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Review
- Antibiotic Use before, during, and after Seeking Care for Acute Febrile Illness at a Hospital Outpatient Department: A Cross-Sectional Study from Rural India.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- High global consumption of potentially inappropriate fixed dose combination antibiotics: Analysis of data from 75 countries.PloS one · 2021Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Associated with Antibiotic Use among University Students: A Survey in Nepal.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Assessment of primary labeling of medicines manufactured by Nepalese pharmaceutical industries.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2018Article
- Availability and rationality of fixed dose combinations available in Kaduna, Nigeria.Pharmacy practiceArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe medications that are registered and available in a country are meant for the prevention and treatment of ailments and diseases. However, a lack of effective regulatory bodies and operative control mechanisms, especially in developing countries, promotes irrational and inappropriate use of medicines. This study aims to evaluate the availability and rationality of unregistered fixed-dose drug combinations (FDCs) in Nepal.
methodsA snowball sampling method with visits to 20 retail pharmacies in each of five major cities in Nepal was used to assess the availability of unregistered FDCs. To justify the rationality of the FDCs obtained from these five cities, the toolkit developed by Health Action International Asia-Pacific (HAI-AP) was used.
resultsAltogether, 41 unregistered FDCs were obtained from the five cities. Among the total 41 FDCs, a majority were anti-inflammatory/analgesic/antipyretics. A maximum of eight drugs and a minimum of two drugs per combination were present among the total 41 FDCs, with a majority in the form of tablets followed by suspensions. The cost ranges from a minimum of 3.7 Nepalese Rupees (NRs) (= USD 0.05) to a maximum of 240 NRs (= USD 3.15). None of the FDCs fulfilled all the fundamental requirements as stated in the toolkit; thus, they were categorized as 'irrational'.
conclusionsUnregistered FDCs are available in the Nepalese pharmaceutical market. All the unregistered FDCs found in our study were 'irrational' as per the HAI-AP toolkit. Regulatory authorities should initiate strict monitoring and appropriate regulatory mechanisms to prohibit the use of unregistered and irrational FDCs.
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