Authors : Hardik Prajapati, Jatin Pathak, Kamalesh Bhatt, Darshan Dave, Minaxi Shah
Volume : 13
Issue : 12
Year : 2023
Page No : 52-62
Objective: To evaluate utilization patterns of drugs with their respective regimen in patients suffering from breast cancer at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: This prospective, observational study was carried out at the Department of Pharmacology and Oncology, GCS Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Ahmedabad, to assess the drug utilization pattern in patients of breast cancer. The study was carried out over a period of 19 months from August 2019 to March 2021. A total of 67 patients were enrolled for the study. Patient’s demographic, clinical, and therapeutic data were collected from the files and in ward visits and analyzed in Microsoft Excel version 2015. Results: Diagnosis of breast carcinoma was highest in age bracket of 41–50 years (23 out of 67 patients) for this study. Most frequently prescribed regimen was Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide as regimen-1 (initial combination of anti-cancer drugs), commonest prescribed regimen-2 (first change in anticancer drug combination) was Docetaxel while Trastuzumab was commonest prescribed regimen-3 (subsequent change in anticancer drugs combination after initial change). Highest prescribed drugs were Cyclophosphamide (66), Doxorubicin (63) and Docetaxel (32) respectively. All patients were received various pre-chemotherapy and post-chemotherapy drugs to combat various toxicities of anticancer drug. Conclusion: The study results can help in generating local data regarding drug use pattern of the systemic chemotherapeutic agents in breast cancer patients and promote rational drug use. Keywords: Carcinoma breast, Drug utilization, Chemotherapy regimen, Rational drug use.