DISEASE PREVALANCE, PHARMACOECONOMIC STUDY AND PRESCRIPTION PATTERN STUDY IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS.

Introduction: Paediatrics is the branch of medicine which deals with the development, growth, diseases and disorders in children. Materials and Methods: Our research as a prospective observational study was performed on 140 type 2 paediatric patients in Mahabubnagar (INDIA). Patients diagnosed with multiple diseases were included in the study. Patient demographic details, medication chart, cost of drugs and Pharmacy bills were collected from the patient. KUPPUSWAMY SCALE was used to analyse the socio economic status of guardians of patients. Gained data was analysed by using SPSS statistical software version 22.2 and Microsoft Excel 2007. Results: It is observed that male infants are more prone to diseases than female infants. The most commonly occurring diseases among paediatricswas found to be fever. Antibiotics were found to be most commonly used drugs. The most common type of antibiotics prescribed were penicillin's, cephalosporins, macrolide, aminoglycoside, tetracyclines, glycopeptides antibiotics. The mean cost of generic drug prescriptions is 169.27±47.2 whereas that of brand drug prescriptions is 347.85±59.6. The P value was found to be 0.015. Conclusion: There should be close monitoring over prescription pattern in paediatric population. It also highlights the need of rational use of drugs, prescribing by generics and from EDL. Continuing education regarding rational prescribing and developing easy guidelines for prescribing in common diseases in children is highlyrecommended. Key Words:Paediatrics, prescription pattern, cost minimisation analysis, rational drug use