Background:

Acid suppressant agents are one of the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide. Their use has been extended beyond the prevention and treatment of peptic ulcers; to other diseases and also in the prevention of side effects caused by drugs like NSAIDs, antibiotics and steroids

Aim:

The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the prescription pattern of acid suppressants in a tertiary care teaching hospital at Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Materials & methods:

This study was conducted for the duration of one year from January 2016 to December 2016 in SGRRIM & HS, Dehradun in the department of Pharmacology. 565 prescriptions containing acid suppressant agentswere collected from the hospital wards and OPDs (outpatient departments). Prescriptions were analysed on WHO drug use indicators for rational prescribing, i.e. drug formulations, number of drugs per prescription, drugs prescribed by generic names, drugs prescribed from national list of essential medicines (NLEM).

Results:

565 prescriptions were analyzed, in which 388(68.67%) were males and 177(31.33%) were females. Most 263(46.54%) of the prescriptions were in 31–45 year age group. A total of 608 acid suppressant agents were prescribed which included 363(59.7%) pantoprazole, 101(16.61%) ranitidine, 46(7.57%) aluminium hydroxide+ magnesium hydroxide gel, 35(5.76%) omeprazole, 24(3.95%) rabeprazole, 22(3.62%) sucralfate, 14(2.3%) lansoprazole and 3(0.63%) famotidine respectively. 309(50.8%) acid suppressants were prescribed in infectious diseases followed by 154(25.33%) in acid peptic diseases, 112(18.43%) in musculoskeletal disorders and 33(5.44%) in surgical cases. All (100%) acid suppressants were prescribed by brand names. 1.07 acid suppressants were prescribed per prescription. 384(63.2%) acid suppressants were prescribed orally and 224(36.8%) were prescribed by parenteral route.  548(90.13%) acid suppressants were prescribed from NLEM 2015.

Conclusion: The study was aimed to detect the prescribing patterns of ASDs in current clinical practice. Most of the ASDs were prescribed for infectious diseases instead of acid peptic disorders. PPIs were the most commonly prescribed ASDs.