DRUG UTILISATION STUDY IN BRONCHIAL ASTHMA IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

A prospective cross-sectional study was done for 5 months (January- May 2011) in the respiratory medicine outpatient department of SRM Medical College Hospital & Research Center, SRM university, Tamil Nadu to evaluate the drug utilization pattern in patients of bronchial asthma. The prescription data of 125 asthmatic patients was analyzed in this study. Allergic factors have seen to be responsible for precipitating asthma in 48% of patients. All the patients received multiple drug therapy at an average of 3.632 drugs per patient. Short acting β2 agonists were the most commonly prescribed group of antiasthmatic drugs (68%) followed by methylxanthines (66.4%), antihistaminics (38.4%), leukotriene receptor antagonists (1.6%) and oral corticosteroids (2.4%). Inhalational therapy was prescribed to 50.4% of patients. Antiasthmatic drugs given as inhalational therapy are more beneficial to the patients than systemic therapy. Hence, their maximum utilization in asthmatics will also go a long way in minimizing the incidence of acute asthma as well as the adverse effects of antiasthmatic drugs.