No abstract

No abstract

Objectives: The objective of our study is to evaluate the drug utilization pattern among geriatric patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India and analyze the prescription pattern. Methods:  Retrospective medical record analysis was performed for indoor cases of the geriatric patients (aged ≥65 years) admitted in medicine wards of Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences teaching hospital, Raichur, from June 2015 to May 2016. They were analyzed for demo graphics, disease pattern  by  system  involved,  disease  diagnosed,  comorbidity  pattern,  most  commonly  prescribed  drugs,  distribution  of  drugs  according  to  their  therapeutic class, evaluation of polypharmacy, route of administration, fixed-dose combinations, and the World Health Organization core prescribing indicators. Results: A total of 400 prescriptions of geriatrics patients admitted in inpatient medicine department were randomly selected and all the required data for the study were collected and evaluated. The majority of patients were found to be in the age group of 65–70 years (70.25%). It was noticed that females (51.75%) were more compared to males (48.25%). The drugs prescribed were analyzed. Ranitidine, ceftriaxone, theophylline, and salbutamol were prescribed to majority of the patients in this study group. The average number of drugs per prescription was 7.42; drugs prescribed by generic name were 33.62%. Among the drugs prescribed, 88.69% were from the National List of Essential Medicines. Total encounters having inject table  preparations were 100% and total encounters having antibiotic prescribed were 91%. The prevalence of cardiovascular disorders (32.5%) was high followed by respiratory disorders (32.25%). Conclusion: This study provides insight into the patterns of drug use in our tertiary care hospital on geriatric patients as well as various diseases prevalent  among  geriatric  patients.  Widespread  polypharmacy,  high  use  of  antibiotics  and  injections,  and  lack  of  generic  prescribing  are  some  concerns that need to be addressed to promote rational usage of drugs.

No abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an airway disorder characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. Indacaterol is a novel, inhaled, once-daily, ultra-long-acting β2-agonist bronchodilator recently approved in India for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of indacaterol compared to twice-daily β2-agonist, salmeterol, as an active control. Methods: The present study was open, randomized parallel group comparison of two active treatment groups over a 12 week period. A total of 60 patients with moderate-to-severe COPD were randomised to treatment either with indacaterol (150 μg once daily) or with salmeterol (50 μg twice daily) and 51 (85%) patients completed the study. The efficacy parameters were change in FEV1, health related quality of life by measuring St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) total score and severity of dyspnoea as measured by Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI) score which were assessed at baseline first and at weeks 4, 8 and 12. Results: Indacaterol increased FEV1 at week 4 by 50 ml, at week 8 and at week 12 by 60 ml over salmeterol and the increase was highly significant (p<0.001) at all stages of the study. Both treatments improved health status (SGRQ total score) and dyspnoea (TDI score), with differences between them favouring indacaterol. Safety profiles were similar across the treatment groups, and both indacaterol and salmeterol were well tolerated without any severe adverse events. Conclusions: Once-daily treatment with 150 μg indacaterol had a significant and clinically relevant bronchodilator effect and improved health status and dyspnoea to a greater extent than twice-daily 50 μg salmeterol. Indacaterol should prove a useful addition in the treatment of patients with COPD. [Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol 2013; 2(4.000): 421-427