Prescription Patterns for Empagliflozin among Adults with Diabetes Mellitus in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Diponkor Kumar Shill
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science and Engineering, East West University, Bangladesh.
Sadia Jahan *
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, Comilla University, Comilla, Bangladesh.
Md. Shahjalal Reza
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, Comilla University, Comilla, Bangladesh.
Shahriar Mohammad Shohan
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, Comilla University, Comilla, Bangladesh.
Joy Chandra Rajbangshi
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, Comilla University, Comilla, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the prescribing pattern of empagliflozin with respect to other concomitant prescribed drugs in a diabetic patient.
Methods: The present research study was conducted in Dhaka from May 2021 to July 2021 at National Healthcare Network (NHN), Dhaka (Jurain, Uttara and Mirpur Branch). A total of 139 were included in this study by following a simple random procedure.
Results: According to the research criterion, 198 prescriptions were collected and 139 were assessed for the study. 78 (56.12%) were male and 72 (51.8%) belonged to the age group 30-64 years, and 67 (48.2%) were in the age group of 65-79 years. 57 (41%) had normal weight, followed by 33 (23.74%) who were overweight, and 49 (35.25%) patients were obese. Approximately 73 (52.52%) of prescriptions prescribed empagliflozin alone, whereas 76 (54.68%) of prescriptions prescribed the combination of empagliflozin and metformin. Among 202 co-prescribed anti-diabetic preparations other than empagliflozin (either monotherapy or combination therapy), 142 (70.30%) were oral hypoglycemic and 60 (29.70%) were insulin preparations. Apart from anti-diabetics, 396 medications were prescribed in this study, including anti-hypertensives (n=47;11.87%) and lipid-lowering drugs (n=43;10.86%). The number of protein pump inhibitors (PPIs) and nutritional supplements were 106 (26.77%) and 84 (21.21%) prescriptions respectively.
Conclusion: Empagliflozin is one of the most often recommended anti-diabetic medications in Bangladesh to treat diabetes with or without cardiovascular and obesity-related complications. Other drug classes are prescribed as well, with no apparent contradictions.
Keywords: Empagliflozin, anti-diabetic agents, diabetes mellitus, prescription pattern