[Drug prescription typology in primary healthcare centers in Tunisian Sahel].

The objective of this survey was to determine the typology of prescription drugs ordered in primary healthcare centers of the Tunisian Sahel. We conducted a cross sectional descriptive survey to analyze 2586 medical orders written by 20 general practitioners working in the public sector of the Sousse sanitary region. The sample included 5628 types of prescription for 209 pharmaceutical agents. More than half of the prescribed drugs (56%) belonged to two therapeutic families: anti-infectious agents and antalgesic-antiinflammatory agents. The 30 most prescribed drugs in general practice accounted for 80% of the prescription lines for agents belonging to 10 therapeutic families. In this "Top 30" list, we found seven antibiotics and four cardiology medicines. The prescription profile in primary healthcare in the Tunisian Sahel shows widespread use of drugs and reflects the diversity of the morbidity encountered in the general medicine setting which corresponds to an advanced "epidemiological transition" in this geographical area. The development of a "Top 30" list could be the starting point for more efficient pharmaceutical management and for more relevant education in therapeutics.