Pattern of anti-diabetic drugs prescribed in a tertiary care hospital of Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Globally, diabetes mellitus is a common endocrine disorder. This study was conducted for collecting the demographic details of diabetic patients and determining the pattern of drugs prescribed among them in outpatient department of a tertiary healthcare center. METHODS: A descriptive type of cross-sectional study was carried out at the outpatient department of Endocrinology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from 1 May to 31 July, 2015. Diabetic patients receiving the management for at least 6 months were enrolled and interviewed by the researchers after getting informed written consent. Structured case record form was used for demographic data & prescription details. Data were analysed using computer in SPSS 22 and Microsoft Excel 2010. RESULTS: Altogether 105 patients, 40 males (38.1%) and 65 females (61.9%) were enrolled with urban predominance (69.5%) where 51 (48.6%) were in the age group 47-61 years with a mean of 53.4 (SD±10.6) years. 70 (66.7%) had diabetic history of less than 5 years and 66 (62.9%) had at least one concurrent illness. Hypertension accounted for majority (34.3%) of complications. On an average, 5.62 (SD±3.16) drugs were advised per prescription for diabetes as well as associated co-morbidities and majority (23.8%) had 4 drugs. The majority of drugs (74.3%) were from local manufacturers. Most patients (62.9%) were prescribed with oral drugs singly. Metformin alone predominated in 41% prescriptions followed by the combination of Metformin and Sitagliptin (31.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The findings can serve as a guide to choose the formulation and combination of anti-diabetic drugs in this part of the world before developing & marketing any new drug.