More than Half of Patients with Schizophrenia Are Receiving Polypharmacy and Co-Prescription of Anxiolytics in Pakistan —Findings from Research on Asian Prescription Pattern in 2016
2018
Objective: Little is known about the prescription pattern of psychotropic drugs for
patients with schizophrenia in Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristic features
of psychotropic drug prescriptions for patients with schizophrenia in Pakistan. Methods: Three centers in Pakistan participated in a large scale
collaborative study known as Research on Asian Prescription Pattern (REAP). The 2016 REAP survey included centers from 15 countries in Asia and
used a unified research protocol. The design of the study was quantitative and
of descriptive epidemiology. Analysis
was made on the data collected from three centers i.e., Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. The data collected in Pakistan were compared with
those from other Asian countries. The details of REAP were presented on the
homepage of REAP (http://www.REAP.Asia). Results: From Pakistan, 298 patients were included. Patients
with schizophrenia in Pakistan received higher rate of antipsychotic
polypharmacy and a higher rate of co-prescription of mood stabilizers and
anxiolytics when compared with participants from other South Asian countries
(India and Bangladesh). Conclusion: The main
findings of the study were that a majority of the patients were prescribed
antipsychotic polypharmacy drugs in Pakistan. Insufficient training on the use
of psychotropic drugs and a lack of treatment guideline are considered to be
the major contributing factors. Further education and training on the proper
use of psychotropic drugs are recommended to psychiatrists in Pakistan. The
guidelines on pharmacotherapy for patients with schizophrenia should also be
developed and promoted in Pakistan.
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