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Pattern Of Prescribing Antipsychotic Drugs In Thailand
Author(s):
Pichet Udomratn* Sorayut Vasiknanonte*
Institution(s):
*Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand.
Abstract:
Objective:
There has been a trend of prescribing new second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) as a first-line treatment for psychosis in many developed countries. However, there has been very few studies concerning this topic in a developing country such as Thailand. This study examined the pattern of prescribing antipsychotic drugs by Thai psychiatrists in a tertiary hospital.
Methods:
Active clinical psychiatric outpatient files (n=1750) between January and March 2003 from Songklanagarind Hospital, a tertiary university hospital in southern Thailand, were retrospectively reviewed.
Results:
Most patient (82.9%) who were prescribed an antipsychotic received only one oral medication. Among patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, the majority (67.9%) received a first generation antipsychotic (FGA). Fewer patients were prescribed a SGA alone (13.1%) or a depot preparation alone (6.4%). Of those patients on a SGA, the most commonly prescribed drugs were a generic form of clozapine (64/.7%), risperidone (19.6%) and olanzapine (15.7%). For patients on a FGA, the most commonly prescribed medications were perphenazine (52.8%) and chlorpromazine, CPZ (19.7%). The mean dose was significantly higher for males (209.14 ±197.49 mg/d of CPZ equivalent) than females (158.57±163.45 mg/d) (t=3.61, p <.001).
Conclusion:
SGAs are not yet widely prescribed in our hospital perhaps due to the high drug cost and the availability of medication. Thai patients may respond to a lower dosage compared to dosages reported in Western studies. Further systematic research is needed before conclusions on this topic can be drawn. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 10, No.1, Jan – June 2009: XX XX
Keywords: prescribing pattern, antipsychotics, Thailand
For full article, please download the document, below:
 Pattern Of Prescribing Antipsychotic Drugs In Thailand (format: pdf, size: 550 Kb)
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