Prescribing Pattern in Psychiatric OPD of a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Psychiatric morbidity is on the rise in the developing economy India. Little data is available for
policy makers to develop guidelines for rational and cost effective prescription of psychotropic drugs.
Aims and Objectives: The present study aims to analyze the prescription pattern of psychotropic drugs in a
psychiatric Out Patient Department.
Materials and Methods: This was a Hospital based prospective analysis of 100 Psychiatric OPD prescriptions.
Consent was obtained prior enrollment. Pharmacological data along with clinical and demographical profile was
collected and analyzed. Data was collected in MS Excel and presented as numbers and percentages in the form of
tables and figures.
Results: There was an equal gender distribution. Most of the patients belonged to the age group of 20-40 years(55%).
Depression(38%) was the most common diagnosis among all the prescriptions evaluated. The most commonly
prescribed drugs were antidepressants(38%) followed by anxiolytics, antipsychotics and mood stabilizers.
Conclusion: Prescribing pattern was in accordance with standard guidelines. This data gives a brief overview of
the psychotropics prescription pattern in our demographic region.