Abuse of Cimetidine in Outpatient Practice

Abstract

To the Editor: Several surveys concerning prescribing patterns of cimetidine for inpatient use have been published.^{1 2 3 4} All these studies have indicated inappropriate use of cimetidine in the inpatient setting. A review of the medical literature has revealed the lack of a comprehensive study of outpatient prescribing patterns for cimetidine. In the past several years, there has been a notable increase in the reports of adverse reactions and drug interactions with cimetidine. ^{5 , 6} In the light of these factors, a survey was conducted to evaluate prescribing patterns for cimetidine in a primary-care outpatient setting.Outpatient prescribing of cimetidine was monitored from October . . .