Drug utilization study in the ophthalmology ward of a local hospital in Faisalabad

Abstract

Concerns regarding the incorrect selection and prescription of necessary and generic medications have been brought up by ophthalmology research in India. The current study examined drug usage trends at a tertiary care hospital's ophthalmology department in order to solve these problems. Patients who visited the ophthalmology outpatient department (OPD) between February and November 2024 were included in this prospective and observational study; patients with glaucoma, cataracts, and hospitalized cases were not. A Case Record Form was used to record patient information, and MS Excel 2019 was used to analyze the data using descriptive statistics. Ninety individuals were included in the trial over a ten-month period, and each patient received an average of 1.91 medications. The most commonly prescribed category was antimicrobials, with fluoroquinolones accounting for 82% of these prescriptions. Interestingly, 95% of prescriptions did not contain any fixed-dose combinations, and 98% of prescriptions were brand-name pharmaceuticals. Of the medications, 74% were used topically and 26% were taken orally. The average amount of medications per prescription is in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, according to the report. Nonetheless, very few medications were prescribed as generic versions. Therefore, to maximize drug utilization in ophthalmology practice, prescribers must become more aware of the advantages of prescribing both essential and generic medications.