Study of prescription pattern in emergency psychiatry in a tertiary care academic hospital of a developing country: a retrospective study

Drug use pattern for emergency psychiatric conditions in a tertiary care hospital

“…We found that maximum patients attending the emergency in need of psychiatric consultation are in their third decade of life (32.94 ± 11.34 years). The finding is similar to the studies conducted for PEs in India[ 5 ] as well as outside India. [ 6 7 8 ] Our study reported the common representation of male in PEs (70.0%), a finding which is similar to recent Indian study.…”

“…In contrast to our study in which antipsychotics (43.57%) were the most commonly prescribed drugs for PEs, anxiolytics and hypnotics (60.96%) were the most commonly prescribed drugs in a study conducted by Nath et al . [ 5 ] The change in drug use pattern for PEs seen in both of these Indian studies could be attributed to different geographical locations and cultural differences leading to change in health-seeking behavior. The difference in drug use pattern was also seen for studies conducted outside India in which benzodiazepine like lorazepam was commonly prescribed in emergency psychiatric setting followed by antipsychotics.…”

“…Lorazepam was the most preferred benzodiazepine in our study because of its reliable absorption and availability as parenteral formulation in the emergency setting. In a study conducted by Nath et al .,[ 5 ] a significantly higher use of benzodiazepines (98.24%) over nonbenzodiazepines (1.75%) was found. However, among the benzodiazepines, clonazepam use was highest (56.47%), followed by lorazepam (40.6%).…”

“…[ 18 ] Trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride, a centrally acting anticholinergic, was most commonly prescribed (64/109, 59.64%), followed by promethazine (44/109, 40.36%) of total anticholinergics prescribed. In a study by Nath et al .,[ 5 ] trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride was the only centrally acting anticholinergic used (3.66% of total drugs prescribed), whereas in a study by Padilha et al .,[ 7 ] promethazine was the only anticholinergic prescribed in the emergency setting. Among the two anticholinergic drugs, promethazine is more commonly used in emergency setting mainly as an additional drug to haloperidol to calm the patients.…”

“…The findings of our study for the use of antidepressants in the emergency settings was similar to the study by Nath et al . [ 5 ] The most common class of antidepressants prescribed in both of these studies were selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) followed by tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). In a study conducted in emergency setting, among the SSRI group, escitalopram was the most commonly prescribed drug, followed by paroxetine, and among the TCAs, amitriptyline was preferred followed by imipramine.…”