Quantifying and Categorizing ADRs in Psychiatric Residential Long-Stay Patients Utilizing UKU-SERS Scale

Abstract

Background: Psychotropic drugs are essential but not devoid of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which lead to non-compliance and further failure of therapy, hampering the patient’s quality of life. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was carried out in a residential nursing home in Pune, India, from October 2018 to March 2019. Psychiatric inpatients of both genders and all ages receiving psychotropic drugs for at least one month were enrolled. Patients who were not alert or oriented enough to give a detailed history and response to a questionnaire, including dementia patients, and those who were not willing to give informed consent were excluded. The ADRs were categorized, and their management was documented using the Udvalg for Kliniske Unders gelser (UKU) side effect rating scale. ADRs were assessed for causality and severity using the WHO-Uppsala Monitoring Centre (WHO-UMC) causality assessment scale and the Modified Hartwig and Siegel scale. Results: In our study, 115 patients (76.6%) experienced 273 adverse drug events. Atypical antipsychotics accounted for the maximum number of ADRs (54.94%; n = 150). The most common ADRs were weight gain, constipation, and tremors. The majority of ADRs were “mild” and had a “possible” causality relationship. Conclusion: The study demonstrated a high incidence of ADRs, which was primarily managed either by reduction of dose or continued drug use with the treatment of side effects.