A Study of an Antipsychotic Prescription Pattern of Patients with Schizophrenia in a Developing Country

Though there are several recommended guidelines for treating schizophrenia, in routine clinical practice, these are not followed. To conduct an audit of the prescription pattern of antipsychotic drugs in patients with schizophrenia, in a tertiary care centre in India, during a period of 1 year and compare it with Maudsley guidelines and Clinical practice guidelines for Psychiatrists in India (IPS guidelines). Data were collected from the case records, compiled, and analyzed. The concordance or discordance with Maudsley and IPS guidelines were studied. The demographic variables of the patients and the prescription pattern of drugs were analyzed. The correlations between supramaximal and sub-threshold dosage of drugs to the gender, age, duration of illness, and combination of drugs were examined. Polypharmacy of antipsychotics is common. 31% of patients were on combination of typical and atypical antipsychotics. 4% of patients were receiving supramaximal dose of antipsychotics and all of them were on combination (P =