Evaluation of disease distribution and drug utilization for management of psoriasis patients in dermatology OPD of a tertiary care centre: a retrospective observational study

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that can have different clinical presentations. Topical corticosteroids are the primary therapy for psoriasis, but there are many new drug options approved for its treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the prescription patterns and disease distribution of psoriasis patients in a tertiary care center in central India. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of 195 psoriasis patients treated in the Dermatology OPD of a teaching hospital from September 2020 to June 2021. We analyzed patient data for demographics, disease characteristics, and medications prescribed using frequency distributions in Microsoft Excel. Results: Plaque psoriasis was the most common clinical variant among the patients, and the male to female ratio was 1.5:1. February had the highest number of patients treated, indicating an aggravation of symptoms during cold weather. Most patients (93.33%) were prescribed topical corticosteroids, with clobetasol being the most commonly used medication (78%). The average number of drugs per prescription was 5, with other drugs prescribed including emollients (53.33%), vitamin D (31.7%), anti-histamines (21.02%), and methotrexate (5.1%). Conclusions: Topical corticosteroids, particularly clobetasol, were the most commonly prescribed medication for psoriasis patients in this study. Multiple drugs were needed for the management of most patients. The study provides insights into the prescription patterns of psoriasis medications, which may improve patient care and outcomes

Comparative study of efficacy and safety of parenteral iron sucrose versus ferric carboxymaltose in treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anaemia

Background: Postpartum anaemia often leads to multiple clinical complications in mother as well as infant and iron supplementation with parenteral iron is the preferred treatment modality. The present study was planned to compare the efficacy and tolerability of IV iron sucrose and IV ferric carboxymaltose in treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anaemia.Methods: This randomized, parallel, open label, prospective 4-weeks study was conducted from June 2019 to December 2020 in women with postpartum anaemia admitted to obstetrics and gynaecology inpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. Women with postpartum iron deficiency anaemia (N=60) were randomly divided into two groups; receiving Injection iron sucrose (N=30, maximum dose 500 mg) or Injection ferric carboxymaltose (N=30, maximum dose 500 mg). Change in haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels from baseline to the end of 2 and 4 weeks of treatment were evaluated.Results: The results showed early, sustained and significant increase in the haemoglobin levels in both the groups. However, the difference was not significant between groups (p=0.2). Evaluation of replenishment of iron stores (serum ferritin) showed improvement in both the groups, however in FCM group the rise was found to be significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: FCM in a lower dose of 500mg was found to be safe and effective in significantly improving haemoglobin concentration as well as in replenishing iron stores in patients with postpartum anaemia