Drug utilization pattern of cardiovascular medications and assessment of WHO-INRUD prescribing indicators among geriatric patients in a tertiary care hospital: a cross-sectional study

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Background: Cardiovascular disorders are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among older patients. Drug utilization studies are useful in assessment of prescribing behaviour and rational use of drugs. To study the drug utilization pattern of cardiovascular drugs and to evaluate the prescribing practices by WHO-INRUD prescribing indicators in geriatric patients of cardiovascular illnesses admitted in tertiary care hospital. Methods: A hospital based observational cross-sectional study was carried out in Medicine wards and Intensive Care Unit of MGM Hospital, Navi Mumbai from April 2024 to March 2026. A total of 250 patients ≥65 years with cardiovascular illnesses were involved. The data were acquired from patient files, medication administration records and laboratory reports. The descriptive statistics were used to analyse drug consumption patterns and WHO-INRUD prescribing indicators. Results: Of 250 patients, 62.4% were males and 37.6% females. The mean age was 70.88±4.00 years. The most prevalent cardiovascular disease was hypertension (87.6%), followed by ischemic heart disease (27.2%) and heart failure (11.2%). The most common pharmacological class used was calcium channel blockers (24.8%), followed by antiplatelet medicines (24.1%). 30.02% medications were prescribed generically and 51.69% drugs were prescribed from national list of essential medicines. Antibiotic and injectable prescriptions were written for 20.03% and 29.17% of encounters, respectively. Conclusions: Hypertension was the most frequent cardiovascular illness among geriatric people. Moderate generic prescribing and compliance with NLEM suggest the necessity of regular prescription audits for promoting rational drug use.