The Pattern of Prescribing Diclofenac Gel in the Orthopedic Outpatient Clinic at a Tertiary Hospital

Diclofenac topical gel is used to treat arthritic pain in certain joints, including the elbows, wrists, hands, ankles, and knees. Additionally, it is used to treat actinic keratosis and to lessen knee osteoarthritis discomfort. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prescribing pattern of diclofenac gel in the orthopedic outpatient clinic at a tertiary hospital. The Hospital's Pharmacy Department assisted in reviewing the outpatient electronic prescriptions to assess the prescription trends for diclofenac gel. In 2021, 1188 prescriptions including diclofenac gel were prescribed to 984 patients. Most of the patients were Saudis and about 58.64% of the patients were females. Age of 26.93% of the patients was between 40 and 49 years and the age of 23.37% of the patients was between 50 and 59 years. The present study showed that diclofenac gel was prescribed commonly to patients who visited the orthopedic outpatient clinic. It is important to educate patients that topical agents are not completely safe and could cause several adverse effects. So, they should use these agents as recommended by the healthcare professionals and they should report any adverse events that occur due to their use.