Abstract
Introduction It is well established that the concurrent use of antibiotics and the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) may result in unplanned pregnancy. An audit project was conducted to ascertain the proportion of patients that were appropriately informed regarding the consequences of using antibiotics while taking the combined OCP.
Patients and Methods Over two 6-month periods all female inpatients between the ages of 16 and 55 years who were discharged from the ENT ward on a course of oral antibiotics were asked if they had been made aware of the possible interaction between antibiotics and the OCP.
Results The first audit cycle revealed that no patients in the study group were informed of the potential consequences. The second audit cycle was performed after a brief educational presentation was added to the induction process for training grade doctors, resulting in 85% of patients being appropriately informed. All the women who actually used the OCP were appropriately informed.
Conclusions This study showed that medical staff did not inform their female patients of the possible interaction between antibiotics and the OCP. This shortcoming was dramatically improved by instituting a simple educational process.
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