DRUG UTILIZATION STUDY AND ADVERSE DRUG REACTION OF ANTI RETROVIRAL DRUGS AMONG HIV INFECTED PATIENTS IN AN ART CENTER

Jeena M. Joy and Aruna Bhushan*

ABSTRACT

Objective: To i) Evaluate the drug utilization pattern of antiretroviral drugs in Human immunodeficiency virus infected patients and ii) Monitor adverse drug reactions associated with anti-retroviral drugs. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out by collecting the data of HIV infected patients visiting ART center of Civil Hospital, Belagavi for a period of six months. The detailed data from case file was collected and noted in a proforma. Simple descriptive statistics was used for analysis. Results: The total numbers of patients were 230. Of which majority were males 122(53.04%). Most common age group affected were 30-45years 92(40%) and common risk factor being heterosexual group 197(85.65%). Occurrence of HIV was more among illiterates (33.91%) and agricultural laborers (13.4%). CD4 count was done prior to ART, most of the patient 93(40.43%) showed less than 200 cells/μL. The most commonly prescribed ART regimen was combination of Tenofovir +Lamivudine +Efavirenz 177(76.96%) and among NRTI 460(45.9%), lamivudine was commonly prescribed 230(22.95%). The concomitant medication prescribed was antibacterial agents 251(25.05%) and others were hematinics (3%). The most common adverse drug reaction was anemia due to drug zidovudine. Tuberculosis was the common opportunistic infection among the patients. Conclusion: Anti-retroviral drugs utilized in our study was in accordance with national guidelines and rational. Incidence of ART associated ADRs were less and more frequent only in patients with prolonged treatment.

Keywords: Drug utilization, antiretroviral drugs, adverse drug reaction.