Objective: Determination of whether rational drug use is facilitated by the quality of the information provided by the Medicom International Vademecum on drugs containing vitamin A as active component.
Design: Descriptive study.
Setting: Primary, specialized and hospital health care within the national context.
Subjects: Total drugs containing vitamin A, included in the 1995 Medicom International Vademecum.
Measurements: Systematic analysis of the information contained in the technical note on drugs containing vitamin A included in the Medicom International Vademecum, with respect to several parameters.
Results: The Medicom International Vademecum lists a total of 37 drugs containing vitamin A (35 in combination). A total of 112 different indications are given; 74 are not accepted in the literature, and 29 are related to the active components present in combination with vitamin A.
Conclusions: The analysis of the technical information provided by the Medicom International Vademecum on medications containing vitamin A reveals major deficiencies in the parameters investigated.