Assessment of Prescribed Class of Anxiolytics and Antidepressants - In Terms of Efficacy, Quality of Life and Cost Analysis in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Though the non-pharmacological treatment play a key role in anxious and depressive patients the drugs like antidepressants and anxiolytics have an elegant role in treating these patients. The success rates with newly diagnosed patients were better. Drugs are necessary to reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions. We have assessed the efficacy of anxiolytics and antidepressants prescribed (to newly diagnosed patients), cost of medications, quality of life in a Multi Specialty Hospital. An assessment was made in newly diagnosed patients with anxiety and depression to study the efficacy of antidepressants and anxiolytics prescribed to them, and their quality of life. Also, the total cost incurred by the patients for one month after diagnoses were evaluated. 100 patients were included in this study, conducted over a period of 6 months. The study sample consisted of 61 females and 39 males. Patients were treated with both single and two drug therapy. There was a significant difference in both the therapy. With the mean differences in both the therapy groups, single drug therapy itself is effective for treating the newly diagnosed patients. All the drugs prescribed significantly improved the health condition of anxiety and depressive patients. In single drug therapy Escitalopram is considered as the drug that has more efficacies with respect to the mean values. Same way in two drug therapy the combination of Escitalopram+Alprazolam is more effective with respect to the mean values. Regarding the cost analysis, Escitalopram is the costliest drug. Though the quality of life of the patients shows significant improvement, it can be improved much more through patient awareness programs and patient education.