Objective. To generate data on the drug utilization pattern and cost of drug treatment and to determine the rationality of prescriptions. Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional drug utilization study was conducted in the medical emergency unit of our hospital. Patient case records were reviewed to extract data on the pattern of drug use. Cost of drug treatment for the emergency visit was calculated by referring to the cost mentioned in Monthly Index of Medical Specialties and the rationality of prescriptions was evaluated using WHO core indicators of drug utilization. Results. 1100 case records were reviewed. Majority of patients received proton pump inhibitors followed by multivitamins. The median cost per prescription was 119.23$ (7.32$–7663.46$). Majority (49.9%) of drug cost was driven by antibiotics alone. An average of 4.9 drugs was prescribed per prescription. There were 14.89% encounters with antibiotics. 75.17% of the drugs were given as injectables and only 29.27% of the drugs were prescribed as generics. Conclusion. There is need to rationalize the drug therapy in terms of increasing prescribing of drugs by generic name and to avoid overuse of PPIs and multivitamins in emergency unit. Also the hospital pharmacy should be encouraged to procure more cost effective alternative antibiotics in future.
Preoperative SADs use is associated with increased bleeding risk with respect to requirement of transfusion; nevertheless, the results should not be generalized to all surgical groups. The divergence between bleeding risk and mortality in CABG surgery patients needs further evaluation.
Pioglitazone appears to have efficacy for the treatment of psoriasis. The clinical significance of the effect and role in management of psoriasis deserve further study.
Patients undergoing CABG might derive benefit from preoperative statin therapy in terms of reducing the need for postoperative renal replacement therapy and mortality. However, the uncertainty concerning the reno-protective efficacy of preoperative statin therapy in patients undergoing isolated valve surgery needs further investigation.
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