Clinical Application of Metformin Use in Anhui Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Li Chen,1,* Qin Chen,2 Xueping Chen,3,4 Pengli Zhu,5 Meinan Chen,6 Wei Wang,7,8 Shandong Ye,7,8 Mao Zheng7,8,* 1Department of Endocrinology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (The First People’s Hospital of Hefei City), Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, Taihe County People’s Hospital, Taihe, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmacy, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 4Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory, Anhui Mental Health Center and Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 6Ethics Committee on Medical Research, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 8Laboratory of Diabetes, Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Hefei, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shandong Ye; Mao Zheng, Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230001, People’s Republic of China, Tel [phone], Fax [phone], Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Given the importance of metformin, reasonable utilization is essential. We designed a cross-sectional survey on physicians’ attitude and clinical application of metformin in Anhui Province, China.Methods: The survey was distributed via an electronic questionnaire among endocrinologists and general practitioners. Seven representative questions were used to evaluate professional levels.Results: Among the 477 valid responses, 72.75% of the respondents preferred to prescribe metformin extended-release, while only 34.38% of them would prescribe metformin extended-release at the correct frequency. More than half of the respondents thought that estimated glomerular filtration rate ˂ 45 mL/min/1.73 m² should be the contraindication of metformin prescription. Less than 10% of the physicians selected correct responses for two questions regarding metformin usage and contrast agent. Physicians with higher levels of hospital grades, education background and professional titles as well as working in general hospitals and in the Department of Endocrinology achieved high scores (P˂0.05). Logistic regression showed that department was an independent predictor for high scores.Conclusion: Physicians, especially non-endocrinologists, are not at a professional level for prescribing metformin. Physicians should be highly vigilant in terms of standardized prescription for metformin. The guidelines or consensuses about diabetes care for physicians should be promoted.Keywords: metformin, professional knowledge, clinical application, diabetes mellitus, physicians

Keywords

• metformin
• professional knowledge
• clinical application
• diabetes mellitus
• physicians