A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON DRUG UTILIZATION PATTERN OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS IN NON-PSYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

ANCY SEBASTIAN; ANEESHA PK; JOSHWA AREECKAL; SONIYA DAVIS

doi:10.22159/ajpcr.2019.v12i3.30004

Authors

ANCY SEBASTIAN Doctor of Pharmacy, St. James College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chalakudy, Kerala, India.
ANEESHA PK Doctor of Pharmacy, St. James College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chalakudy, Kerala, India.
JOSHWA AREECKAL Doctor of Pharmacy, St. James College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chalakudy, Kerala, India.
SONIYA DAVIS Doctor of Pharmacy, St. James College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chalakudy, Kerala, India.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2019.v12i3.30004

Keywords:

Antidepressants, Depression, Amitriptyline, Alprazolam, Tricyclic antidepressants, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the pattern of prescription and utilization of antidepressants (ADs) for various non-psychiatric indications in department of general medicine, cardiology, surgery, gynecology, and orthopaedic of a tertiary care teaching hospital.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional unicentric drug utilization study of inpatients was carried out in a 450 bedded tertiary care hospital. The study included 200 subjects admitted for both psychiatric and non-psychiatric illness. Pediatric patients and those with a length of stay <48 h were excluded from the study.

Results: Prescriptions of 200 patients were studied in which 55% were males and 45% were females. The most widely prescribed drug is alprazolam comprising 50% of the total drug consumption and is followed by clonazepam (19.5%), amitriptyline (13.5%), diazepam (9.5%), escitalopram (3.5%), lorazepam (3%), and zolpidem (0.5%). About 36% of the drugs were prescribed in the general medicine department, and 27.5% of the prescriptions were from the cardiology department. Prescriptions from surgery, orthopedics, and gynecology were 16%, 11.5%, and 9% of the total, respectively.

Conclusion: ADs were found to be potentially useful for non-psychiatric indications such as peripheral and diabetic neuropathy, gastroenterological conditions, and urological conditions. No benefit was observed in insomnia and musculoskeletal conditions except for fibromyalgia. ADs were also found to improve the treatment outcome and quality of life of patients having comorbid psychiatric conditions being treated for non-psychiatric disorders.

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Author Biography

ANCY SEBASTIAN, Doctor of Pharmacy, St. James College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chalakudy, Kerala, India.

clinical pharmacy

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