title: IPS multicentric study: Antidepressant prescription patterns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are very few studies from India which have evaluated the prescription pattern for antidepressants by psychiatrists for treatment of depression.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the psychotropic prescription patterns of patients with first episode depression from diverse settings including teaching institutions in public and private sectors and even privately run psychiatric clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prescription data of 706 patients with first episode depression, who participated in the IPS multicentric study, were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Escitalopram was the most commonly prescribed antidepressant, comprising 40% of the total prescriptions. This was followed by sertraline (17.6%) and fluoxetine (16.3%). In total, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) formed 79.2% of all the prescriptions. Tricyclic antidepressants formed a small part (15.15%) of total prescriptions, with imipramine being the most commonly used tricyclic antidepressant. Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine and duloxetine) were prescribed to 11.3% of patients with equal share of venlafaxine and duloxetine. About one-sixth (N=104; 14.7%) of the patients were prescribed more than one antidepressant. Nearly three-fourth of the patients (N=523; 74.1%) were prescribed a benzodiazepine, with clonazepam being the most preferred agent, prescribed to nearly half of the participants (49%) and formed nearly two-third of the total benzodiazepine prescriptions (346 out of 523).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Escitalopram is the most commonly prescribed antidepressant and SSRIs are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants. Poly pharmacy in the form of concomitant use of two antidepressants is practiced infrequently. However, benzodiazepines are used quite frequently as the co-prescription.
authors: Members of Indian Psychiatric Society, India.
authors: Sandeep
authors: S
authors: Grover
authors: Ajit
authors: A
authors: Avasth
authors: Kamal
authors: K
authors: Kalita
authors: P K
authors: PK
authors: Dalal
authors: G P
authors: GP
authors: Rao
authors: R K
authors: RK
authors: Chadda
authors: Bhavesh
authors: B
authors: Lakdawala
authors: Govind
authors: G
authors: Bang
authors: Kaustav
authors: K
authors: Chakraborty
authors: Sudhir
authors: S
authors: Kumar
authors: P K
authors: PK
authors: Singh
authors: Puneet
authors: P
authors: Kathuria
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Thirunavukarasu
authors: P S V N
authors: PS
authors: Sharma
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Harish
authors: Nilesh
authors: N
authors: Shah
authors: Kamla
authors: K
authors: Deka
keywords: Antidepressants; depression; prescriptions