Assessment of Drug related problems Encountered in Patients with Psychiatric disorders in a Secondary Care Hospital

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Patients with psychiatric disorders receives multiple medications associated with their comorbid conditions and mental illness increasing the risk of drug related problems leading to frequent hospitalization, healthcare expenditure and reduced quality of life. Aim/Objective: To assess and evaluate the Drug Related Problems (DRPs) encountered in patients with psychiatric disorders in a Secondary Care Hospital in Ras Al-Khaimah. Methodology: A prospective observational study was carried out for a period of six months in the department of psychiatry of a secondary care teaching hospital. All the necessary details including the demographics, drug therapy and laboratory parameters were collected from the patient case records. The patient medication orders were reviewed and screened for any DRPs. The identified DRPs were documented and later evaluated to identify the types, frequency, class of drugs involved and for the level of clinical significance by using the descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 61 DRPs were identified from 50 patients. Male predominance was noted over females. DRPs were commonly seen in patients aged between 21-40 years of age. Schizophrenia (42%) was the most common psychiatric illness identified in the study. The most common DRPs was found to be drug-drug interaction (36.06%) followed by adverse drug reaction (27.86%) and medication non-adherence (24.59%). The level of significance of DRPs was found to be 'minor' significance in the grade. Conclusion: The study identifies the DRPs in patients with psychiatric illness and necessitates the need for a regular medication review which will help to rationalize the drug therapy, achieve better therapeutic outcomes and improved quality of patient care.