Abstract

A STUDY ON DRUG UTILIZATION OF PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS IN TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Hossein Najmaddini, *Dr. Basavanna P. L. and Dr. M. S. Narendra Kumar

ABSTRACT

The continuous monitoring of prescription and drug utilization studies may assist in identifying the issue in therapeutic decision-making and promoting rational prescribing and one of the leading causes of morbidity is psychiatric disorders. Newer medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and atypical antipsychotics, have changed medical frameworks. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study was carried out in the patients visiting the department of psychiatry, Medical College and Research Institute, KR Hospital, Mysore, India. The patients' most recent psychopharmacological medications were obtained in a standardized proforma and analyzed using World Health Organization (WHO) prescription indicators. Wherever possible, descriptive statistics like percentage, mean, and standard deviation have been used. Results: The researchers looked at a total of 203 prescriptions. Anti-epileptics (27.7%), antipsychotics (18.3%) and antidepressants (13.8%) in more than half of prescriptions, the widely recommended drug classes were used. Phenobarbitone (30.2%), Risperidone (27.9%), and Escitalopram (48.9%) were commonly used drugs among anti-epileptics, antipsychotics, and antidepressants, respectively. 54.9 % of drugs were prescribed based on their generic names. Polypharmacy was prevalent in 5.3% of prescriptions. Conclusion: The WHO drug instructions were regularly followed. Prescribers should be encouraged to provide information in their prescriptions about the length of treatment and the total amount of medications that should be dispensed. Moreover, the problem of brand-name prescribing must be resolved. For a small number of subjects, polypharmacy was recommended, and the reasons were acceptable.

Keywords: Drug utilization evaluation, Psychopharmacological medication, Polypharmacy.