A study on medication-related hospital admissions in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Medication-related hospital admissions have gained attention during the last few decades. It has been reported that up to 5% of all hospital admissions were medication-related and 50 % of those were avoidable. In India, studies on medication-related hospital admissions are still in the infancy stage. The objective of the study was to assess the types and outcomes of medication-related hospital admissions (MRHA) in a tertiary care teaching hospital. This prospective observational study was conducted for six months at JSS Hospital, Mysuru. Patients of any age and gender, who were admitted to General Medicine, Emergency, Nephrology, Psychiatry, Pulmonology wards due to medication-related problems were enrolled in the study after obtaining an Inform Consent Form. All the necessary data about MRPs were collected and documented in a suitably designed data collection form. MRPs were classified by using Hepler and Strand classification, and the implicated drugs were coded by using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification system (ATC) code. Prevalence of medication-related admissions was calculated by dividing the total number of medication-related admissions and the total number of admissions to the hospital. There were 185 MRHA during the study period in the respective departments. The total prevalence of MRHA in the included departments was 1.27%. Failure to receive drugs (50.27%) accounted for the maximum MRHA, followed by adverse drug reactions (46.44 %) and overdose (3.27%). The average cost associated with MRHA was found as INR 10,440 (USD-174, £ - 149). The average length of stay of MRHA was found as approximately seven days [6.96, (sd±2.42)]. The study shows that failure to receive drugs leading to hospitalization are frequent and constitute a significant economic burden. Training of patients and prescribers may lead to a reduction in hospitalization due to MRPs and thus lessen their financial burden.