STUDY OF UTILIZATION PATTERN AND DRUG INTERACTIONS OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL

  Objective: This study attempts to get an insight into the utilization pattern of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and their drug interactions in cases collected from the neurology department in a private hospital.Methods: In a prospective study spanning 6 months (February-August 2013), we have analyzed the prescription data of 38 patients with seizures. We retrieved prescription data from patient profile forms and documented essential data in a patient profile form, designed for our study. The demographic data, AEDs prescribed and their drug interactions were recorded.Results: Out of 38 cases, 32 (84.21%) were males and 6 (15.78%) were females. The mean age of patients was 40 years and 55% of them belongs to an age group of above 40 and 45% belongs to age group below 40. Above the age group of 40, 95% were males and 5% were females. Below the age group of 40, 72.22% were males and 27.77% were females. From the 38 prescriptions analyzed, phenytoin was the most common drug prescribed (92.10%) for the treatment, followed by diazepam (36.84%) and sodium valproate (7.89%). Monotherapy was given in 57.89% of patients. The overall incidence of drug interactions was 13 out of 38 cases. In this study, milder drug interaction (phenytoin with ranitidine) was found to be 52.63%, and moderate drug interaction (phenytoin with diazepam) was found to be 39.47%.Conclusion: This study revealed that phenytoin, diazepam, and ranitidine accounted for most of the drug interactions. This study concludes that patient education and observation were necessary for proper utilization of drugs.Keywords: Anti-epileptic drugs, Prescription, Drug interactions, Patient education