Vol. 8, Issue 7 (2019)

Background: Coronary artery disease is also described as ischemic heart disease it is a condition in which vascular supply to the heart is impeded by atheroma, thrombosis or spasm of coronary arteries. Atheromatous plaques decrease the lumen diameter and reduce the ability of the coronary artery to dilate in response to increased oxygen demand. Coronary artery disease is a group of disease which include acute coronary syndrome and stable angina. Drug utilization research provide insights into the many aspects of drug use and drug prescribing such as pattern, quality, determinants and outcomes of drug use.

Objectives: The main objective of the study was to find the drug utilization review for Anti-platelets and Anti-coagulants in patients with coronary artery disease. To find ADR associated with drug therapy and cost analysis among different brands of Anti-platelets and Anti-coagulants drugs were also included in the study using DDD. The purpose of ATC/DDD was to serve as a tool for drug utilization monitoring and research in order to improve quality of drug use.

Methodology: A noninvasive descriptive observational study was conducted in Coronary Care Unit and in Department of Medicine, Rajah Muthiah Medical College and Hospital, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu. Our hospital is multi-speciality tertiary care university teaching hospital with 1400 beds. The study period was six months i.e., November 2017 to April 2018. The study was approved by Institutional Human Ethics Committee. This study described the drug utilization of Anti-Platelets and Anti-coagulants in a group of 78 Coronary artery patients (CAD) patients in Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and Medicine ward.

Results: This study enrolled and completed with total number of 78 patients. In there, 46.15% were male and 53.85% were female. Anti-platelets and Anti-coagulants had been prescribed for age ranging 40-80 years with more number of patients within 70-80 age groups. Clopidogrel was prescribed to more number of patients out of 78 patient in our study. Among Anti-coagulants, LMWH was prescribed to 30 patients and UFH was prescribed to 12 patients. In our hospital, Streptokinase is the most used fibrinolytics to break the formed clot.

Conclusion: This descriptive study expressed the total exposure to the drugs like Clopidogrel, UFH and LMWH according to the defined study period. Drug Utilization study of Anti-platelets and Anti-coagulants in DDD gave a rough estimate of consumption of these drugs and not the exact picture of the actual drug use. It doesn’t imply any judgements about efficacy or relative efficacy of drugs. Our study concluded the trends in drug use of Anti-platelets and Anti-coagulants. In future, comparative studies will be done between population groups within country or region.