Study on prescribing pattern of anti-diabetic drugs among type 2 diabetes patients with complication in South Indian teaching hospital

Objective: To evaluate the drug utilization pattern of anti-diabetic agents with respect to glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level in a Type 2 diabetes patient with complication. Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted as per the protocol approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. The patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus with complication were identified, and those who had measured HbA1c level during previous follow ups were included in the study. All demographic, drug prescriptions, and clinical data of patients were collected and documented in a suitably designed case report form. Descriptive analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 20. Results: Based on the study criteria, 644 patients were selected and enrolled for the study. The majority of study subjects 494 (76.7%) were male and 415 (64.4%) were belonged to the age group 45-64 years. 252 (39.1%) of the patient, had normal weight followed by 234 (36.3%) were overweight, and 142 (22.1%) patients were obese. The prescription pattern showed the majority of patients 509 (79%) patients had 1-2 anti-diabetic medication followed 133 (20.7%) patient prescribed with 3-4 anti-diabetic drug. An insulin was prescribed in 507 (63.4%) patients and among oral anti-diabetic drugs, metformin 283 (43.9%), glimepiride 140 (21.7%), and voglibose 88 (13.7%) was most commonly prescribed. Conclusion: Among all the anti-diabetic drugs, the insulin was highly preferred over oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) to control the glycemic level, and metformin accounted for the most commonly prescribed OHAs. In the second generation of sulfonylureas class, glimepiride and glipizide were most prescribed.