Abstract

STUDY OF PRESCRIPTION PATTERN IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Muhamed Sharaf Abdul Raheem*, Reenu Fathima K. P. and Dr. Anjana John

ABSTRACT

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a setting where a large number of drugs are administered to patients and there exists irrational use of medicines in the ICU. The aim of the study was to analyse the prescription pattern in an intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital. A total of 134 patient data forms were collected in a prospective observational study from January 2018 to June 2018. Patient related information and drug related information were recorded on a customized data collection sheet. WHO drug indicators were selected to analyse the prescribing pattern. Drug interactions were identified using drug interaction checker software (Medscape) that classifies the interaction based on its severity. Most of the patients admitted to the ICU had sepsis(88%) followed by respiratory disorders(25%), nephrological disorders(17%) and so on. The most frequent age group was 60-79 years with a mean age of 60.73±15.4 years. The average duration of ICU stay was 4.5 days, while the average number of drugs per patient was 11.8. Out of the total study population, 85.1% were prescribed with one or more anti-infective, with beta lactamase inhibitors (34.53%)being the most frequent class. The prevalence of drug interactions was 77.62%, with 61.36% major and 27.65% serious interactions. Pantoprazole-Clopidogrel interactions were found to be the most common, with a frequency of 27 major interactions.

Keywords: Prescription pattern, Intensive care unit, Drug interaction, adverse reactions.