Abstract

Background: Psychotropic drugs have had a remarkable impact in psychiatric practice. However, their utilization in actual Clinical practice, effectiveness and safety in real life situation need continuous study. Aim: To evaluate the utilization pattern of antipsychotics drugs in the OPD of Psychiatry department. Materials and Methods : A prospective cross-sectional study was undertaken for a period of three months. The total number of prescriptions that were analyzed were 264. Patients of all ages and both sexes were included in the study while inpatients, Referred patients and patients of epilepsy were excluded. Results : Out of 264 patients, 180(68.18%) were males and84 (31.81%) were females. Depression (30.6%) was the commonest psychotic ailment. Fluoxetine (34%) was the most common antidepressant prescribed for its treatment. Anxiety comprised the second commonest category of psychotic disorder (24.4%) followed by Schizophrenia (22%). Lorazepam (43.4%) was the most prescribed anxiolytic whereas Risperidone (46.6%) was used to treat it. Conclusion : Depression was the commonest psychotic ailment followed by anxiety and schizophrenia. Polypharmacy was found in 45% of prescriptions. Risperidone + Trihexyphenidyl was the commonest fixed dose combination used for Schizophrenia and Psychosis followed by amitriptyline+Chlordiazepoxide for anxiety and depression.