Study on drug related hospital admissions in a tertiary care hospital in South India

Background and objectives

Accidental and intentional poisonings or drug overdoses constitute a significant source of aggregate morbidity, mortality, and health care expenditure. Studies evaluating drug related hospitalization have estimated that approximately 5–10% of all hospital admissions are drug related. The present study was carried out to investigate type, nature and incidence of drug related admissions in our hospital settings.

Method

A hospital based retrospective study was conducted in 575 cases of drug related admissions. The case records of patients admitted in various clinical departments of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) Hospital during last 8 years (January 2002–December 2009) were collected and analyzed.

Results

During the retrospective study, the total number of drug related cases reported were 575. Out of these, 35.5% cases were induced by central nervous system (CNS) drugs, 19.8% were by cardiovascular system (CVS) drugs, 12.3% were by NSAIDs, 11.3% were by antibiotics and 9.9% were by anticoagulants, 11.3% by other drugs which includes hormones, cytotoxic drugs, hypolipidemics, etc. Four hundred and forty cases were admitted to emergency department. Common drug related problems resulting in hospital visits were due to intentional, accidental and overdose. The incidence of drug related hospital admissions was found to be 0.20%.

Conclusion

The most of the accidental and suicidal cases were reported are by CNS drugs. Psychiatric patients intentionally taking medicines as suicidal attempt and as a part of their illness. As drug related problems are so significant, increased awareness and enhanced collaborative efforts among patients, physicians, pharmacists and caregivers within community and hospital have the potential to minimize the impact of this problem.