PRESCRIBING PRACTICES OF ORAL ANTI-DIABETIC DRUGS IN THE TREATMENT OF TYPE-2 DIABETES MELLITUS AT ST. MARTHA’S HOSPITAL, BANGALORE

The present study was undertaken to get an overview of the current trends in prescribing patterns of oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADDs) in the treatment of type 2 DM. It was a six months prospective observational study carried out at St. Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore, India. Institutional ethical clearance was obtained from St. Martha’s hospital. Data was obtained from a prospective series of 201 diabetic patients prescriptions. Only out patients were included, heir lab reports and medication cards were scrutinized. FBS, PPBS and drugs prescribed were noted, and also if incase there was any adverse event it was recorded. Among the different approaches of treatment, dual therapy with the combination of Sulphonylureas + Biguanides (82.6%) was found to be the most preferred choice of treatment, and in this, Metformin + Glimepiride (56.6%) was the most preferred combination of drugs. The overall usage of Biguanides (Metformin) during the study period was in 78.6% of the patients. The use of OADDs like, Thiazolidinediones, Alpha-Glucosidase inhibitors and Meglitinides was found to be very less. Newer agents like Dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Inhibitors (DPP IV Inhibitors) did not find place for the management of type 2 DM, even in a single patient during the study period