STUDY OF UTILIZATION PATTERN AND DRUG INTERACTIONS OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS IN A PRIVATE HOSPITAL
Abstract
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 Objective: This study attempts to get an insight into the utilization pattern of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) and their drug interactions in cases collected from the neurology department in a private hospital.
Methods: In a prospective study spanning 6 months (February-August 2013), we have analyzed the prescription data of 38 patients with seizures. We retrieved prescription data from patient profile forms and documented essential data in a patient profile form, designed for our study. The demographic data, AEDs prescribed and their drug interactions were recorded.
Results: Out of 38 cases, 32 (84.21%) were males and 6 (15.78%) were females. The mean age of patients was 40 years and 55% of them belongs to an age group of above 40 and 45% belongs to age group below 40. Above the age group of 40, 95% were males and 5% were females. Below the age group of 40, 72.22% were males and 27.77% were females. From the 38 prescriptions analyzed, phenytoin was the most common drug prescribed (92.10%) for the treatment, followed by diazepam (36.84%) and sodium valproate (7.89%). Monotherapy was given in 57.89% of patients. The overall incidence of drug interactions was 13 out of 38 cases. In this study, milder drug interaction (phenytoin with ranitidine) was found to be 52.63%, and moderate drug interaction (phenytoin with diazepam) was found to be 39.47%.
Conclusion: This study revealed that phenytoin, diazepam, and ranitidine accounted for most of the drug interactions. This study concludes that patient education and observation were necessary for proper utilization of drugs.
Keywords: Anti-epileptic drugs, Prescription, Drug interactions, Patient education.
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