Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Vignan Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Duvvada, Visakhapatnam, India
Abstract
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is frequently accompanied by multiple comorbidities that necessitate complex pharmacotherapy. Drug utilization studies offer valuable insight into real-world prescribing patterns and medication use.
Objective: To evaluate the drug utilization patterns among hospitalized patients with COPD at a tertiary care teaching hospital and to describe their demographic characteristics, clinical profile, comorbidities, and therapeutic class-wise distribution of prescribed medications.
Methodology: A retrospective observational study was conducted among 162 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COPD at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Data were extracted from medical records using a structured data collection form and encompassed demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, comorbidities, and prescribed medications. Drug utilization was analyzed according to therapeutic class, and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the findings.
Results: The mean age of the study population was 68.8 ± 8.13 years, and 133 (82.1%) patients were male. Dyspnea was documented in 152 (93.8%) patients, followed by chronic cough in 128 (79.0%), wheezing in 73 (45.1%), sputum production in 65 (40.1%), and chest pain in 16 (9.9%). Among the evaluated comorbidities, hypertension was present in 28 (17.3%) patients, diabetes mellitus in 21 (13.0%), previous pulmonary tuberculosis in 21 (13.0%), coronary artery disease in 19 (11.7%), and anemia in 10 (6.2%). Acebrophylline was the most frequently prescribed single-agent respiratory medication, used in 69 (42.6%) patients. Budesonide + formoterol was prescribed in 50 (30.9%) patients, whereas budesonide + glycopyrrolate + formoterol fumarate was prescribed in 45 (27.8%). Cefoperazone + sulbactam was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic combination, used in 39 (24.1%) patients. Bilastine + montelukast was prescribed in 107 (66.0%) patients, rabeprazole + domperidone in 103 (63.6%), and multivitamin/mineral preparations in 75 (46.3%).
Conclusion: This study characterizes the clinical features and prescribing patterns among hospitalized patients with COPD. Bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroid-containing combinations, systemic corticosteroids, antibiotics, and adjunctive therapies were commonly prescribed. However, the available retrospective data were insufficient to determine guideline concordance or the appropriateness of individual treatment decisions.
Keywords
Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and facilities provided by the Vignan Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Duvvada, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Availability of data and materials: Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Ethical Considerations: This retrospective study was approved by Vignan Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology Ethical Committee (approval number: [VIPT/IEC/06122378]; approval date: [06 June 2026]). The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The requirement for individual informed consent was waived by the committee due to the retrospective nature of the study and the use of previously collected patient records. Patient confidentiality was maintained throughout the study, and all data were used exclusively for research purposes
Conflicts of interest: All the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Consent for publication: Not application.
Funding: No financial support was received for this study.
Authors’ Contribution: Conceptualization: ANP, Project administration: ANP, Resources: ANP, SG, SVKB, DD, YM, SRY, Data Curation: ANP, Formal analysis: ANP, Original draft writing: ANP, Writing- review and editing: ANP, SG, SVKB, DD, YM, SRY
Declaration on the Use of Artificial Intelligence: We acknowledge the use of ChatGPT to assist with enhance readability, clarity, consistency, and linguistic accuracy. After using this tool, the authors carefully reviewed, edited, and verified the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the published article.
Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
