Critical analysis of drug related problems among inpatients in the psychiatry department of a tertiary care teaching hospital: A pharmacist led initiative

Abstract Introduction Drug Related Problems (DRPs) frequently take place in modern medical practices, increasing the morbidity and mortality as well as the cost of patient care. Objective The current study was undertaken to identify and evaluate various DRPs among the inpatients of the psychiatry department in a tertiary care teaching hospital using APS-Doc classification system and to identify the most recurrent drugs causing the DRPs. Method ology: A prospective observational study was conducted forduration of six months among 198 patients using APS-Doc classification system. The data was statistically analysed and tabulated. Results A total of 205 DRPs were identified in 102 patients, among which 115 (56.1%) were potential drug-drug interactions (pDDI) and 62 (30.2%) were adverse drug reactions (ADRs). 21 (10.2%) DRPs belonged to the category of incorrect spelling of the trade name and 3 (1.5%) among them belonged to unintended prescription of the same drug. Two out of 205 DRPs (1%) belonged to the class of prescription of an incorrect dosage form or no dosage prescribed. One DRP each were categorised under wrong dosage form prescribed and inadequate generic substitution respectively. Out of the total of 314 drugs, risperidone (n = 43, 13.7%) was found to be the drug associated with the most number of DRPs followed by olanzapine (n = 38, 12.1%) and lorazepam (n = 32, 10.2%). Conclusion The study revealed that more than half (51.5%) of the patients presented with DRPs and the most commonly identified DRPs were pDDIs and ADRs.