Drug Utilization Pattern and Potentially Inappropriate Medications among Elderly Inpatients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Western Nepal (original) (raw)

Introduction: Drug utilization research deals with the quality of care focusing on potentially inappropriate medication (PIM), The objectives of the study were to assess the drug utilization pattern (class of drugs used, average number of drugs per prescription per encounter, number of drug prescribed in generic name and antibiotics in prescription) and potentially inappropriate medications and their categories among elderly inpatients. Methods: It was a prospective observational study carried out in the medical department of Western Regional Hospital, one of the tertiary level public referral hospital in Pokhara, Nepal. One hundred and two patients of both sexes, age above 65 years and who were hospitalized in medical department were selected. The patients were followed until their discharge to obtain complete information about the drugs being used. Patient data collection form and Updated 2012 Beers Criteria were used to assess drug utilization patterns and determine PIM respectiv...