DRUG UTILISATION STUDY IN INTENSIVE CARDIAC CARE UNIT OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives:To evaluate the drug utilization pattern of drugs among patients in Intensive cardiac care unit of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A prospective study was carried out in the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU) of Government Stanley medical college,for a period of 1 month. Demographics, indications for admission, comorbidities, duration of hospital stay and various drugs prescribed were observed and analysed statistically. Results: Among the 110 patients, 63% were males, with mean age of 61±0.25 yrs. A majority of patients had diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (90%).The average number of days of ICCU stay was 3, with average drugs prescribed per patient was 10.Diabetes mellitus and hypertension were the most common co-morbidities. The commonly prescribed drug classes were dual platelet inhibitors(aspirin, clopidogrel) (84%), Hypolipidemic drugs like statins (86%), Thrombolytics like streptokinase(72%), opioid analgesics (75%) , anticoagulants (82%), ACE-inhibitors (39%), Angiotensin receptor blockers (10%) and antianginal drugs like isosorbide dinitrate(45%), ranitidine(80%) to prevent peptic ulcer anxiolytics (54%) and antiemetics (21%).Anti biotics were also prescribed (32%) and most commonly prescribed was ceftriaxone. Conclusion: Drug utilization study was conducted with the aim of assessing the medical,social and economical consequences in the given setup. An evaluation on the quality of consumption of medication in the Intensive cardiac care unit ,their efficacy were analysed in order to identify priorities and any modifications that can be done if needed.It was found from this study that majority of the drugs were prescribed according to standard treatment guidelines.