Abstract

DRUG UTILISATION PATTERN OF ANALGESICS AMONG POSTOPERATIVE PATIENTS IN TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Dr. Santosh Uttagi*, Prof. J. S. Venkatesh, Akshara S. Jeevan, Albin Johnson, Aleena Fernandez, Mallikarjun H. M.

.

Abstract

A Drug Utilization Evaluation (DUE) study was conducted to assess analgesic prescribing patterns and measure postoperative pain intensity using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). This prospective observational study was carried out among in-patients of General Surgery, Orthopedics, and Obstetrics & Gynecology departments in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Pain scores were evaluated at fixed time intervals, and data were analyzed using JASP 0.18 software, with ANOVA applied to identify significant differences in mean pain scores among groups. A total of 245 postoperative patients were included, comprising 69 males and 176 females. Among them, 125 were from Obstetrics & Gynecology, 63 from General Surgery, and 57 from Orthopedics. The most frequently prescribed analgesics were injectable combinations of Paracetamol and Tramadol, administered on the day of surgery and continued through the third postoperative day. Patients were divided into three groups based on analgesics received: Paracetamol (Group A), Diclofenac (Group B), and Tramadol (Group C). Pain assessment at 0 hours showed no significant difference between groups (p = 0.275), while a significant reduction in mean pain scores was observed at 6 hours, with Group C (Tramadol) reporting the lowest scores. The study concludes that a combination of opioid (Tramadol) and non-opioid (Paracetamol) analgesics was commonly utilized for postoperative pain management. This approach demonstrated effective pain relief, indicating that multimodal analgesia can enhance recovery, minimize hospital stay, and reduce the likelihood of adverse effects when appropriately administered.

Keywords: Analgesics, drug utilization evaluation, VAS, pain, postoperative.