(302) Assessment of Polypharmacy And Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use Among Psychiatric Patients: A Prospective Study.

Background: Polypharmacy among psychiatric patients increases the risk of drug interactions, adverse reactions, non-adherence, and healthcare costs, often outweighing potential benefits and indicating potential overuse or inappropriate medication use.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the frequency and nature of polypharmacy among psychiatric patients and to identify potentially inappropriate medication use among psychiatric patients.

Methods: It was a prospective interventional study conducted among inpatients at the Department of Psychiatry of a tertiary care hospital in Southern India for 6 months. Data regarding medication usage, including the number and type of medications prescribed, were collected, and was analysed using descriptive statistics to determine the extent of polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medication use.

Results: A total of 105 psychiatric patients with mean age of 37.2 ± 12.0 were enrolled in the study of which 69.5% were males. The prevalence of polypharmacy was found to be 60.9% (64/105) and mostly among males (73.4%, 47/64). Around 28.1% of patients were prescribed with five medications. Polypharmacy was most seen in patients with alcohol dependence syndrome (88.6%, 31/35) followed by bipolar affective disorder (52%, 13/25). Additionally, a total of 24 potentially inappropriate medications were identified, most of which were due to drug use without a valid indication (29%, 7/24), mostly (85.7%, 6/7) using proton pump inhibitors.

Conclusions: Polypharmacy is prevalent among psychiatric patients, necessitating vigilant monitoring and intervention to mitigate associated risks. Identifying and addressing potentially inappropriate medication use through deprescribing initiatives holds promise in optimizing patient outcomes and reducing the burden of polypharmacy-related adverse events in psychiatric care settings.