Retrospective Utilization Patterns of Antidepressant Medications.
K. Suria Prabha1*, G. P. Mohanta2, R. Manavalan2 and P. Muthu Prasanna31Department of Pharmaceutics ,C.L.Baid Mehta College of Pharmacy, Chennai (India).
2Department of Pharmacy, Annamalai University, Tamilnadu (India).
3Department of Pharmaceutics , Hindu college of Pharmacy, Guntur (India).
Abstract: To investigate the prevailing prescribing practices in the treatment of depression and to determine whether these practices reflects research findings. Patient profiles were reviewed retrospectively between February 2006 to January 2007 in private hospital at Chennai. The total study population includes 750 patient. According to this study , SSRIs agent are favored as first line treatment in a first episode of depression and are prescribed more frequently because the side effects are better tolerated than the older drugs. At the time this study was conducted, the newer antidepressants SSRIs and the SNRIs were prescribed in the majority of cases. . The study data demonstrated significant problems in the dose and duration of antidepressant treatment in this population. The results of the present study should be used as a discussion tool by pharmacists with physicians in order to optimize prescription habits for antidepressant usage.
Keywords: Retrospective; prescribing patterns; antidepressant medications Back to TOC