DRUG UTILIZATION STUDY IN INDOOR ADULT POST-OPERATIVE PATIENTS OF GENERAL SURGERY UNIT OF A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL OF CENTRAL INDIA – A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Background: Drug Utilization Study offers useful methods for teaching and training in drug therapy. In our setting, there is no such study that describes the use of drugs post-operatively. As a result, this study was conducted to investigate the post-operative drug utilization pattern in indoor post-operative patients. Aim: To study the prescribing trends of drugs used in indoor adult post operative patients in general surgery unit. Methods: Prospective observational study was conducted in post operative patients in General Surgery wards and ICU for 12 months at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Results: Total 600 cases were studied. Majority of the patients managed were males (64.5%). Most of the patients were in 18-40 years age group (49.66%) and from rural background 69.33% (416). The most common surgical procedure performed was Appendicectomy (29%). A total of 4437 drug products were prescribed. Average number of drugs prescribed per encounter were 7.39±2.56. Only 41.08 % of the drugs were prescribed by Generic name. Antibiotics were prescribed to 99.66% of the encounters. Antibiotics per prescription were 2.12 ± 0.85. Injections were prescribed to 96.5% of the encounters. About 84.69 % of the drugs were prescribed from the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML). Conclusion: Results indicate that there is scope for improving prescribing habits among the surgical fraternity. This study will provide them with feedback on prescribing.