Abstract
Background: Although psychotropic medications play a significant role in modern day psychiatric practice, their utilization and consequences on actual clinical practice need continuous study.
Methods: Current prospective cross sectional drug utilization study was carried out in outpatient department of psychiatry, ESIC medical college and hospital, Faridabad, to assess the utilization of psychotropic drugs and their prescribing pattern. The prescribing pattern was analyzed by various WHO drug use indicators.
Results: Among 200 patients included in our study, 84 were males and 116 were females. The most common disorder was depression followed by anxiety, headache, psychosis and seizures. The number of drugs prescribed per patient was 1.9. 85% of drugs were prescribed by generic names, 89% drugs were available in hospital pharmacy. Escitalopram was the most common prescribed antidepressant (30%) and clonazepam was the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepine.
Conclusion: The study advocated on overall rational utilization of psychotropic drugs with a fewer deviation due to socio-economic status of patients and prescription patterns of health care providers.
Keywords: Prescription Audit, Drug Utilization, Psychotropic Drugs.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Dwividendra Kumar Nim
Assistant Professor, Deptt of Pharmacology,
ESIC Medical College and Hospital, NH3 Faridabad.121001
Mobile no.9650612878, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.