RESUMO
Background: Stroke, as a one of the leading causes of mortality and disability, is also very preventable and curable disease. Pharmacotherapy plays an important role in prevention of first-ever stroke as well as secondary cerebrovascular accident. We aimed to evaluate the prescription pattern in cases of ischemic stroke and to check whether rationale prescription of drugs in ischemic stroke patients is being followed in our hospital.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in inpatient department of general medicine in government general hospital, Kakinada for a period of six months from April to September 2018. A total of 306 prescriptions of ischemic stroke were selected randomly and prescriptions patterns were assessed and analyzed.Results: Out of the 306 cases, 183 were males (59.80%) and 123 were female (40.19%). Aspirin was given in 88.23% of the patients, Atorvastatin in 97.05%, Clopidogrel in 24.50%, antihypertensives in 67.64%, B complex in 88.23%, Pantoprazole in 85.29% of the patients. Physiotherapy was advised in 47.05% of the patients. Among anti hypertensives, Amlodipine was given in 73.91% patients.Conclusions: Anti hypertensives, lipid lowering agents like Atorvastatin along with anti-platelet drugs like Aspirin and Clopidogrel were commonly prescribed for ischemic stroke cases for treatment and secondary prevention. Antacids and Multivitamin tablets were given as concomitant drugs. Present study showed a rationale utilization of drugs in ischemic stroke patients.
RESUMO
Background: World Health Organization (WHO) has defined diarrhoea as, ‘the passage of loose stools by an individual, at least thrice a day or more frequently than normal’. It is most commonly caused by intestinal infection, mainly viral. Every year there are about 2 billion cases of diarrhoea worldwide, a second leading cause of mortality in children below the age of 5 years. WHO estimated that antibiotic treatment was necessary in only one in twenty cases of childhood diarrhoea. Yet huge resources are currently spent on anti-diarrhoeal drugs annually, most rendered useless or harmful. This study was proposed to evaluate the utilization pattern of drugs prescribed for diarrhoea in children, in a government tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra.Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was carried out in the paediatric ward of government tertiary care hospital, Maharashtra. All patients of age less than twelve years with diarrhoea admitted to paediatric ward within the study period of January 2015 - June 2016 were included in the study. Patients older than twelve years or admitted with other gastrointestinal diseases or co-mordbid conditions were excluded. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics.Results: Majority of the patients admitted were males and more than half the patient population were in the age group of less than or equal to 3 years. Polypharmacy was found to be present in the prescribing pattern, with average, more than 4 drugs prescribed for diarrhoea treatment, in each prescription. Majority drugs were prescribed using brand names and parenteral route. Use of antibiotics was also found to be inappropriate in majority of the cases.Conclusions: The study highlighted the importance of drug utilisation studies and pointed out inappropriate drug prescribing trends for diarrhoea cases in a tertiary care hospital in Maharashtra.
RESUMO
Background: Hypertension (HTN) and Diabetes mellitus (DM) are the leading contributors to the cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Drug utilisation studies (DUS) are potential tools in the evaluation in health care systems. Objectives was to analyse the drug usage pattern of anti-hypertensives in elderly hypertensive diabetic in-patients in a tertiary hospital. To analyse drug usage pattern of anti-hypertensives in elderly hypertensive, diabetic in-patients with renal impairment in a tertiary hospital.Methods: The study population consisted of 165 hypertensive diabetic in-patients at Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) Hospital. Questionnaire based study was conducted and prescriptions of patient with HTN and DM at and above the age of 60 years irrespective of gender were included.Results: Our study revealed that angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were the most commonly prescribed (42.4%) class of anti-hypertensive drugs. In patients with impaired renal function also ARBs were the most common class prescribed (22.0%). Out of 35 anti-hypertensive fixed drug combinations (FDCs) prescribed the most frequent combination was combination with an ARBs (85.7%). There was a significant increase in the number of anti-hypertensive drugs prescribed in patients with impaired renal function when compared to patients without impaired renal function (p <0.05). The cost index was high, and the percentage cost variation was more than 100% in most of the anti-hypertensive drugs prescribed.Conclusions: This study shows that the most commonly prescribed anti-hypertensive drug class was ARBs in patients with and in patients without impaired renal function.