Prescription pattern of NSAIDS and the prevalence of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal risk factors of orthopaedic patients

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most commonlyused medications in the world. NSAID-induced adverse reactions involve upper gastrointestinal(GI) tract complications, which can be life-threatening. Objectives: The study was conducted toexplore the current prescription pattern of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and theprevalence of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal(GI) risk factors of orthopedic adultinpatient.Materials and methods: A prospective observational NSAIDs induced GI risk relatedstudy was conducted over a period of 6 months by clinical pharmacist. Study cohort included 105orthopaedic inpatients who are taking or will be taking NSAIDs for more than a week. A selfadministeredquestionnaire was completed by each patient. A simplified risk scoring scale (theStandardized Calculator of Risk for Events; SCORE) was used to measure patients‟ risk for GIcomplications. The pattern of NSAIDs prescription was identified from medicalrecordings.Results: The study groups were stratified into four risk groups according to GI SCOREtool, 27.6% of the patients belonged to high risk or very high risk groups for GI complications.Analysis of prescription pattern revealed that 11.4% of the patients aged over 65 yr, 19% with comorbid disease were prescribed with COX-2 selective inhibitor.Conclusion: In this study assessment of prescription pattern and GI risk factors for NSAIDs wereevaluated and in conclusion, physician‟s considerate prescription of NSAIDs with wellunderstandingof each patient‟s GI risk factors is strongly encouraged to prevent serious GIcomplications