Abstract
Introduction:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a major global health problem especially in the developing countries. In Pakistan, physicians do not always adhere to treatment guidelines like GOLD while treating COPD. So, Drug utilization review helps to understand the prescribing pattern of physicians as well as cost effectiveness of treatment. Pharmacoeconomic aspects focuses on choosing a cheaper and more effective treatment for getting relief from COPD.
Methods:
The present study was conducted for a period of 6 months at Tertiary care Hospital of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 166 patients were included in this study. Convenient sampling technique was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.0. The Spearman’s rank test was applied to analyze the differences between patient perspective and Govt perspective.
Results:
Prescribing pattern was analyzed using WHO drug use indicators and checked that how much money was spent by them for their treatment in hospital. In this study, most patients were male (75.3%) and between 51-60 years of age. The major symptoms were shortness of breath (88.6%) and cough (83.7%). Commonly used medicines include bronchodilators, corticosteroids and antibiotics. An average of 7.48 drugs were prescribed per patient and 88% of drugs were prescribed by the brand names. Cost of treatment increases with severity of the disease. For severity III, the medication cost was 3953 PKR followed by lab investigation cost was 3160 PKR and treatment cost was 7838 PKR. These values changes with severity. For all 166 patients included in this study, 86.4% of direct medical cost was supported by the government.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, most of the drugs used in our study were according to the GOLD guidelines regardless of availability of drugs and doctor recommendation. Moreover, patient with COPD attacks requires sufficient healthcare resources for treatment because COPD imparts a heavy economic burden on patients and government.