A STUDY ON PRESCRIBING PATTERNS OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE DRUGS IN CARDIOLOGY IN-PATIENT DEPARTMENT AT A TERTIARY HEALTH CARE INSTITUTION , ASSAM, INDIA.

Objective: To study the prescription patterns of antihypertensive drugs in a tertiary care hospital with special reference to mono and multi-drug regimens Method: A retrospective, cross sectional analysis of antihypertensive prescriptions was done which included all prescriptions of hypertensive patients admitted in Cardiology inpatient wards of the hospital during the period of January 2016 to June 2016. Patient case records were collected from Medical Records Department of our Hospital and reviewed to extract data on the pattern of antihypertensive drug use. Collected data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel Sheets. Result: A total of 140 prescriptions were analyzed. 106 (76%) were male patients and 34(24%) were females. Maximum hypertensives were seen in the age group of 60-69 in both sexes and the least were seen in the age group of 20-29 in males and 30-39 in females. Out of the total patients, 38 patients (27%) received monotherapy and 102 (73%) of them received combination therapy. Calcium channel blockers were the most commonly prescribed monotherapy. Two drug combination received by 50 patients (49%), followed by 3 drugs combinations (44 patients,43%) and 4 drugs combination (8 patients,8%) Conclusion: This study shows that the prescribing practices for antihypertensives are inconsistent with the international guidelines. Most of the patients received combination therapy. Further studies needed for rational drug choice based on economic status, co morbidities, that would give additional information.