Retrospective study of the drug prescribing pattern in Crohn's disease (CD) in a tertiary care hospital

Crohn's disease (CD) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which exhibits relapsing and remitting course. There are a few reports on its epidemiology but there is a paucity of studies on management of CD in India. The objective to study the drug prescribing pattern in Crohn's disease (CD); to determine the efficacy of various treatment regimens with regard to improvement in patient's symptoms and its correlation with laboratory parameters like hemoglobin (Hb) level during follow up visit. A retrospective observational study was conducted at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, from 1^st Jan 2009 to 31^st Dec 2010. All patients who were diagnosed to have CD based on clinical, endoscopic and histological evidence were included in the study. The case files of patients were retrieved from medical records section and data was collected according to the proforma. Statistical analysis was primarily descriptive. Comparisons between categorical variables were done using chi-square test. Paired t-test was used for comparison of hemoglobin levels. In our study, the total numbers of patients with Cohn's disease were 17. The peak incidence of disease was in the age group of20-29 years and it was more common in males. The prescription rate of aminosalicylates, glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants were 70.6, 52.9 and 64.7% respectively. Mesalamine, prednisolone, and azathioprine were the commonly prescribed drugs. The most commonly prescribed treatment regimen was a combination of aminosalicylate, steroid and an immunosuppressant (23.5%). A good correlation was seen between improvement in patient's symptoms and laboratory parameters like increase in hemoglobin level (83.3%) during follow up visit. The results of this study help us to know the different treatment strategies employed in the management of CD and their response.