Role of pharmaco-epidemiology in psychopharmacology: a study in psychiatric out-patient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital at Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Background: Prescription auditing studies are a part of drug utilization studies, are beneficial in clinical practice for rational prescribing of drugs and helpful for minimizing the medication errors. They are important tool to promote rational prescribing.Methods: This wasa prospective drug utilization study conducted by the Department of Pharmacology in Psychiatry out-patient department at Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun for a period of 6 months. A total of 311 prescriptions were evaluated for prescribing pattern using World Health Organization drug indicators and National Essential Medicine List (NEML) 2011.Results: A total of 311 prescriptions were evaluated, 157 (50.48%) were females, and 154 (49.52%) were males, mean age was 37.14±0.8 years. Majority of patients were married 207 (66.56%), housewife 116 (37.30%) and belong to middle socioeconomic group 205 (65.92%). A total of 1250 drugs were prescribed, anti-anxiety (anti-A) 379 (30.32%), anti-depressants (anti-Ds) 348 (27.84%), anti-psychotics (anti-Ps) 118 (9.44%), anti-epileptics (anti-Es) 64 (5.12%), mood stabilizer 20 (1.6%), anti-cholinergics 28 (2.24%) and others 293 (23.44%). Oral formulations 1247 (99.76%), 4.02 drugs/prescription, 100% drugs were prescribed by brand names. 220 (17.6%) fixed dose combinations were prescribed. Most frequently prescribed among anti-A drugs were propranolol 160 (42.22%) and diazepam 105 (27.70%), among anti-Ds drugs were amitriptyline 65 (18.68%) and escitalopram 59 (16.95%) and among anti-Ps risperidone 49 (41.53%) and olanzapine 38 (32.20%), respectively. About 51.36% drugs were prescribed from the NEML 2011. Result has revealed polypharmacy in the practice.Conclusions: Anti-A drugs were the most commonly prescribed drugs followed by anti-Ds, anti-Ps and anti-Es respectively. Rational prescribing requires further consideration with special reference to polypharmacy and providing feedback to the physicians