DRUG USE EVALUATION AND APPROPRIATENESS OF MEDICATION USED IN STROKE PATIENTS
Dr. Mohanraj Rathinavelu Mudhaliar, *Dungavath Swarnakumari, Dr. Padmanabha Reddy Yiragamreddy, Dr. B. Venkataramana
ABSTRACT
Background: Stroke is a major cause of mortality worldwide and commonly occurs in elderly patients. After coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer of all types, stroke is the third commonest cause of death worldwide. Primary prevention of stroke includes antiplatelet therapy with aspirin, statin therapy and blood pressure management. Effective prevention and treatment of infections should therefore be an important component in any strategy aiming to reduce the impact of stroke. The integration of the pharmacist role in management of stroke is very crucial and improves outcomes of the patients only by performing a critical medication utilization strategy. Objectives: The current retrospective study of six months duration was performed to assess the prescribing pattern and appropriateness of medication used in the stroke patients in an orthopedic multispecialty healthcare setting of India. Results: Ischemic stroke (65.56%) was more prevalent in our study, hyperlipidemia (47.05%) and hypertension (28.05%) were the most predominant diagnoses observed in majority of population. In our study male gender (66.67%) was more prone to stroke attacks, that too within age group of 61 – 70 years (22.22%), smoking (29%) was one of the cofound contributing risk factor, followed by family histories (80%). Anti-atherogenics and statins were majorly utilized in study population found rationale which is the value addition in stroke therapy. Conclusion: Our study showed a rationale utilization of drugs in stroke patients. Moreover, the study recommends regular and periodic drug utilization studies on medications in stroke patients for improving disease management strategy and quality of life in patients.
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