PHARMACOECONOMIC AND DRUG UTILIZATION STUDY OF ANTIDIABETIC THERAPY IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF NORTHERN INDIA

Objective: This study was planned to analyze the prescription patterns and compare the cost of antidiabetic drugs in our tertiary care teachinghospital.Methods: It was a prospective observational study conducted over a period of 6-month. Data were collected on a predesigned case record form frompatients of diabetes attending medicine outpatient department, and the core prescribing indicators were evaluated. Their pharmacy bill was alsocollected and analyzed and percentage variation in the cost of antidiabetic drugs was calculated.Results: A total of 262 prescriptions were analyzed showing the main age group between 50 and 60 years (39.69%). Out of 262 patients, 141 (53.82%)were males and 121 (46.18%) were females. 176 (67.17%) prescriptions had 2-5 drugs showing clear evidence of polypharmacy. The total numberof drugs prescribed in 262 prescriptions were 1209, and thus, an average number of drugs prescribed were 4.61/prescription. The most commonantidiabetic drug prescribed was metformin 500 mg in 189 (33.99%) patients, and the most common antidiabetic combination was glimepiride 2 mg+ metformin 500 mg in 62 (34.63%) patients. Insulin was used in 37 (14.12%) prescriptions. Among other drugs, maximally used were atorvastatin86 (7.11%) followed by aspirin 54 (4.46%) patients. The percentage cost difference of antidiabetic drugs varies from 40.62 to 633.33. The cost ofmonthly therapy for a maximum number of patients was in the cost range INR 100-500 in 148 (56.48%) patients.Conclusion: The most frequently prescribed antidiabetic drug was metformin and the most frequently used combination used was glimepiride andmetformin. Polypharmacy was also evident in our study, and the cost of monthly antidiabetic therapy was also moderately high.Keywords: Pharmacoeconomic, Drug utilization, Antidiabetic drugs