Drug Utilization Evaluation of Proton Pump Inhibitors in General Medicine Department of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), antagonists of H⁺K⁺ ATPase, have been found as the most efficacious inhibitors of the gastric acid secretion. Prescribing PPIs is on the rise owing to polypharmacy and multiple co-morbid condition of the patient. This study aims to analyze the drug utilization pattern of PPIs.Methodology: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 98 prescriptions were analyzed as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study. These prescriptions were analysed for the prescribing pattern in accordance with FDA guidelines. Results: In our study 51% were females and 49% were males. The mean age of our study population was 40.87±14.86 years. The most commonly prescribed PPIs in our study was found to be Pantoprazole (59.18%) followed by Rabeprazole (39.80%) and Omeprazole (1.02%). According to the present study, 58 cases were found to have indication for PPIs prescription, 37 prescriptions were found to have possible indications and 3 cases were not having any indications for PPIs prescription. Conclusion: The clinical pharmacists and physicians should keep a constant vigil on the prescriptions to prevent inappropriate prescribing of PPIs with reference to the guidelines available regarding their indication of use which would increase the quality of prescription for individual and community.

Keywords: drug interactions, drug utilization evaluation, prescribing pattern, proton pump inhibitors.