Prescribing of veterinary and human preparations for animals in Norway. Was the preparation approved for the animal species for which it was prescribed?

The prescribing of drugs for use in veterinary medicine in Norway was investigated through a cross-sectional survey. Of the 8741 prescriptions issued for animals included in this study 22% were for drug use in veterinarians' practices. Drugs from all but one therapeutic group were prescribed for use in animals. On average, 49% of the prescriptions were for veterinary preparations, 43% were for human preparations, and 8% were for formulations prepared by pharmacies. Of prescriptions for specific animal species, 27% of the preparations were not approved for the intended animal species. The corresponding figures for prescriptions of veterinary and human preparations were 7% and 41%, respectively. Of prescriptions for production animals 17% of the preparations were not approved for the intended animal species, and for pets this figure was 30%.