Drug utilization pattern in an intensive care unit setting in Eastern India

Abstract

Background: The intensive care unit (ICU) is a setting where a large number of drugs are administered to patients, most of them critically ill and suffering from multiple complications, making the costs of hospitalization and drug treatment high. There is a dearth of information on drug utilization in ICUs in Eastern India. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the drug utilization pattern in an ICU setting in Eastern India. The objective was to monitor, evaluate, and suggest modifications in the prescribing pattern of ICU drugs. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the case records of patients admitted to the ICU of a multispecialty hospital in Eastern India during the time period from January 2015 to June 2015 was carried out. The demographic profile of the patients, drug utilization pattern and defined daily dose (DDD)/100 bed-days of the commonly used drugs in the ICU were studied. Results: A total of 275 patients were evaluated consisting 61% male patients. Most common causes for admission to the ICU were a cerebrovascular accident, chronic kidney disease, and road traffic accident. An average number of drugs per patient was 10.5. Commonly prescribed drug classes were the antimicrobial agents (AMAs) in 96% patients followed by gastrointestinal drugs. Ceftriaxone was the most commonly used AMA (41.5% patients), having a drug consumption of 35.1 DDD/100 bed-days during the study period. Conclusions: An antibiotic use policy should be framed and followed to curb the excessive use of AMAs. Formation of a multidisciplinary team to oversee drug use will be helpful to make the drug utilization in the ICU rational.