Background: Skin is the part of integumentary system that constitutes the largest organ of human body and thus it is exposed to injury by various extrinsic and intrinsic factors. The skin disorders have serious detrimental effect on quality of life of the general population. The present study was planned to define the prescription pattern in terms of rationality, drug interactions and financial burden of disease to the individual. Also, in the identification of problems related to drug use such as poly-pharmacy and drug-drug interaction.Methods: The present study was conducted in the male and female out-patient Department of Dermatology at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana over a period of two months. Prescriptions of 400 patients were analyzed i.e. 200 each were taken from the male and female OPD patients. An observational and cross-sectional study design was adopted for this study.Results: Prescriptions of 400 patients were analyzed. The average number of drugs per prescription was 3.73 in male OPD and 3.59 in female OPD. The percentage of generic drugs prescribed was 84.13% in male OPD and 77.3% in female OPD, drugs prescribed by brand name was 15.82% in male OPD and 22.7% in female OPD. Antihistamines were the most commonly prescribed drugs followed by antibacterial in female OPD and antifungals in male OPD.Conclusions: Prescription of maximum drugs was by their generic name and was dispensed free of cost to the patients from the hospital pharmacy. Almost all the drugs prescribed as oral formulation were present in the NLEM, India 2011. Whereas some topical formulations prescribed are not present in the NLEM. Therefore, were prescribed by trade name. Regular educational interventions like sensitization on pharmacovigilance may further promote rational prescribing.

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<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Chronic otitis media (COM) is a serious healthcare concern worldwide, because of the distress and economic burden to the patient and their family. Temporal bone pneumatization plays an important role in etiology, behaviour, course and outcome of COM. Pneumatisation gets poorer with growing chronicity of the disease<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> A retrospective study was conducted between March 2015-March 2017 on female patients visiting with COM, at ENT department Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, Madras Medical College. The records were analysed of the age, duration of symptoms, associated complaints, pure tone audiogram, computerised tomography of temporal bone, mastoid surgery done according to the disease process affecting the ear<span lang="EN-IN">.  </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> 35 female COM patients were analysed, most common age group is between 31-40 years in 14 patients. There hearing loss was mild category in 27. There were 27 cases of mucosal type of chronic otitis media and 8 cases of squamous type. The CT scan with sclerosis of mastoid was the common finding<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> In exclusive study on female patients with COM, the mucosal type of COM is common with mild hearing loss and sclerosed mastoid indicating the chronicity<span lang="EN-IN">.</span></p><p class="abstract"> </p>

Background: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the prescription pattern of anti-hypertensive drugs and adherence to Beers’ criteria in geriatric department of JSS Hospital, Mysuru.Methods: An observational, prospective, cross-sectional study was carried out in geriatric department. The basic demographic information and prescriptions of geriatric patients were studied. Descriptive analysis was used to present the results, prescriptions were analysed and checked for adherence to Beers’ criteria.Results: Out of 485 patients, 82.68% received monotherapy, 15.87% received 2-drug combination therapy and 1.4% received 3-drug combination therapy. Among patients receiving monotherapy, angiotensin receptor blockers (49.06%) was the commonest antihypertensive class of drug prescribed. Telmisartan (38.96%) was the commonest drug prescribed. Among 2-drug combination therapy angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and Calcium channel blockers were combined commonly. In 3-drug combination therapy angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, beta blockers and diuretics were combined commonly. 99.3% of prescriptions were adhered to 2015 American Geriatrics Society Beers criteria.Conclusions: Almost 82% of the patients were treated with monotherapy. The trends in prescribing of anti-hypertensives were in favor of conventional ones such as Angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics, beta blockers and centrally acting alpha agonists. 99.3% of prescriptions were in accordance with the American Geriatrics Society 2015 Updated Beers criteria.