Abstract
Background: Every year millions of patients undergo surgery. The prescribing pattern of medications in patients undergoing surgery may differ based on the hospital setup, profile of the patient, and type of surgical procedure. Hence, the present study is undertaken to know the prescribing pattern of pre-anesthetic, intraoperative, and post-operative agents in surgery and orthopedic department.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of pre-anesthetic, intraoperative and post-operative medications used in surgery and orthopedic departments at a tertiary care teaching hospital.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in the departments of surgery and orthopedic in a tertiary care teaching hospital after taking approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. The details of demographic, clinical data and drugs prescribed during the pre-operative, intraoperative, and post-operative period were recorded in a preformed case record form and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: A total of 400 patients prescriptions were collected and analyzed which included 244 patients in orthopedic department and 156 patients in the surgery department. The average number of drugs per encounter was 10.01 and 7.25 in the surgery and orthopedic department, respectively. Preoperatively, the majority of patients received ondansetron (99.5%) followed by glycopyrrolate, midazolam, tramadol, and ranitidine. Surgery was done either under general anesthesia (sodium thiopental and sevoflurane) or local anesthesia (Bupivacaine). Skeletal muscle relaxants used along with general anesthetics included succinylcholine, atracurium, and vecuronium. Postoperatively, antimicrobial agents (AMAs) (831) were most commonly used followed by analgesic agents (368). The majority of AMAs were used from “Watch group” (50%) compared to “Access group” (38.88%) (World Health Organization-Access, Watch, Reserve classification).

Conclusion: The present study gives an insight into the use of pre-anesthetic, intraoperative, and post-operative medications in our set-up. Generic medicines are used more which is good as it reduces the cost. Post-operative antimicrobial usage was more from the “Watch group” compared to the “Access group,” which is a concern and needs implementation of antibiotic policy.

Key words: Surgery; Orthopedic; Pre-anesthetic; Intraoperative; Post-operative; World Health Organization-Access, Watch, Reserve