Drugs used in patients with heart failure in a tertiary care center – A drug utilization study

Background: Heart failure (HF) patients need multiple drug therapy. There are numerous drugs used worldwide but knowledge regarding pattern of their use is limited from Eastern India. Aims and Objectives: Objective was to assess utilization pattern of drug among the adult patients with HF in Nilratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal. Materials and Methods: This was an observational and cross-sectional study conducted in Department of Pharmacology and Cardiology at NRS Medical College and Hospital. A total 100 adult patients were included for this study after fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria and their treatment details were recorded. Results: A total of 670 drugs were prescribed in this study (average of 6.7 drugs per prescription). Most of the patients were between 41 and 60 years of age and most of them were male (61%). Significant percentage of prescriptions were generic (86.87%) and 100% were adequately labeled and dispensed. Average consultation time for each patient was 10.5 min. Commonly used drugs included diuretics, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers, mineral-corticoids receptor antagonists, and angiotensin receptor blockers. Conclusion: This study showed that standard treatment protocol guidelines were followed and rational use of drug was seen.