Review of the prescriptions of patients applied to the emergency services of some hospitals in Antalya and which were diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection by the emergency doctors

ABSTRACT The patient who presents to the emergency department with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) needs to be diagnosed and treated correctly in a short time. A significant portion of the prescriptions written for treatment in Turkey are prescriptions written to patients diagnosed with URTI. In this study, the diagnosis and treatment of patients diagnosed with URTI and for whom a prescription was prescribed were examined. For this research, the diagnoses and prescriptions of patients who applied with complaints of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) in Antalya province Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine Emergency Service, Manavgat State Hospital Emergency Service and Akseki State Hospital Emergency Service between January 2021 and January 2023 were evaluated. Depending on the diagnosis of the patients, it was examined whether the medications given were in accordance with "Rational Drug Use" and whether the use of antibiotics was necessary. Rational drug use is very important in the treatment of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI) for various reasons: These reasons are; It is discussed under headings such as 1.Avoiding Antibiotic Resistance, 2.Minimizing Adverse Effects, 3.Cost Effectiveness, 4.Patient Safety, 5.Improving Public Health. As a result, it was concluded that it would be appropriate to educate Emergency Department staff, who frequently encounter respiratory tract infections, about rational drug use and to inform patients not to take over-the-counter drugs. As a result, it has been determined that it is important to provide training on rational drug use to Emergency Department staff, who frequently encounter respiratory tract infections, and to inform patients not to take over- the-counter drugs. Key Words: drug, rational drug use, antibiotics, respiratory tract infection