Drug utilization study in postoperative patients in obstetrics and gynaecology ward of tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: A growing number of pharmaceutical products are available in the world market and there has been an increase both in the consumption of the drugs and in expenditure on them. The aim of the study was to analyse drug usage in post-operative patients in obstetrics and gynaecological ward and to assess the prescribing indicators (WHO: Core Drug Use Indicators). Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted over a period of six months, after getting approval from Institutional Ethics committee. A specially designed proforma was used to collect the data of post-operative patients in Obstetrics and Gynaecological ward of a tertiary care hospital. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis with the help of SPSS software. Results: A total of 582 cases were analysed during the study. Out of 582 patients, 559 (96%) were prescribed with parenteral cefotaxime and metronidazole. Post-operative pain was managed with tramadol (96%). All patients were prescribed with an antibacterial agent and analgesic (100%). The percentage of encounters with an injection prescribed was 100% in our study. Out of 19 different drugs prescribed, 16 (84.21%) were from the Essential Medicines WHO Model List (2015) and 10 (52.63%) were prescribed by their generic name. Conclusions: The present study provides valuable insight about the overall pattern of drug used in postoperative patients. The study is useful in decreasing the irrational prescription, which helps to decrease the morbidity and health care burden in the society.