Study of drug prescription pattern and adverse drug reaction monitoring in patients with hypertension and diabetes visiting outpatient department in a government tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra, India

Background: Drug utilization study is an important tool to study the clinical use of drugs and its impact on healthcare system. DUS in patients with HTN and DM is essential to observe the changing prescribing attitude of physicians with the aim to promote rational use of drugs and to minimize the adverse drug reactions.Methods: A cross sectional observational study was conducted on randomly selected patients attending medicine outpatient department in a tertiary care hospital. Drug prescription sheets of 600 patients were studied for 18 months from January 2016 to June 2017 and the prescribing pattern was analysed using the World Health Organization basic drug indicators.Results: Total 2029 drugs were prescribed to 600 patients that belonged to various classes. The average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 3.4. Majority (61.5%) drugs were prescribed using generic names. Percentage encounters with the antibiotics and injections were 6.3 and 11.5 per cent respectively. 38% drugs were prescribed from the 20th edition of WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. PDD in the current study was found to be significantly less than WHO DDD in all drugs. All of the prescriptions in the present study conformed to WHO guidelines and majority of them with JNC VIII guidelines.Conclusions: The findings of this study are comparable to those of other studies. However, there is a scope of improvement in areas such as overdosing, prescribing more by generic names instead of brand names and from WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.

Evaluation of peripheral and central analgesic activity of ethanolic extract of Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn. in experimental animals.

Background: Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn. (Verbenaceae) is an important and widely used medicinal plant. Though variously used in Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy system of medicine in the case of ailments such as diarrhoea, skin disorders, venereal and scrofulous complaints, wounds, post-natal complications, as anti-helminthic, and external applications on tumors, the plant needs thorough investigation for its specific medicinal activity. This study evaluates both the central and peripheral analgesic effect of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of C. infortunatum Linn. (EECI) in the experimental animals. Methods: Acute toxicity test was done following the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development guidelines. EECI (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg body weight [b.w.] p.o) was evaluated for central analgesic activity by the tail flick method and peripheral analgesic activity by the acetic acid (0.7%) induced writhing test, respectively. Using aspirin (300 mg/kg b.w. and 100 mg/kg b.w.) as the standard drug. Results: EECI significantly decreased the number of writhing in writhing test at all the doses (p<0.01) and increased the reaction time in tail-flick method (p<0.01) at all the doses. EECI in the dosage of 400 mg/kg b.w. produced effects which was comparable with that of the standard drug aspirin (p<0.001) in writhing test (p<0.001) and tail flick method (p<0.001). Conclusion: The study showed significant central and peripheral analgesic activity of EECI which may be attributed to the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis, phospholipase A2, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. C. infortunatum Linn. as a commercial source of analgesic drug should be subjected to further research.

Effect of Zinc Salts on Acid Secretion and Peptic Ulceration in Albino Rats.

The present study was carried out to see the effect of two zinc salts i.e zinc sulphate and zinc chloride on gastric ulcers induced by stress, pylorus ligation and aspirin in albino rats. The rats were divided into two main groups (zinc sulphate 30, 60, 90 mg/kg i.p and zinc chloride 10 and 20mg/kg i.p). They were further sub-divided into three sub-groups dependant on ulcer model i.e stress, pylorus ligation and aspirin induced ulcers. It was found that zinc sulphate and zinc chloride had a dose dependant reduction in ulcer index in all three models of gastric ulceration. Also, both the salts had anti acid secretory effect, raised pH of gastric secretion and reduced total acidity significantly. Thus zinc salts prevent gastric ulceration. Probably this effect is mediated by anti acid secretory action.