Physical comorbidity and its impact on symptom profile of depression in Indian setting 2 (COSPO-DEP-2 study)

Background: The objective of the study was to determine the symptom profile and prevalence of comorbidities and to understand the prescription patterns of antidepressants among depression patients in India.Methods: The real-world, retrospective, observational COSPO-DEP-2 study was conducted at various centres across India between April 2021 and March 2022.Results: Data of 7288 patients with depression was analyzed. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 45.1 (11.9) years. Majority of the patients were males (54.2%) and literate (92.7%); 53.1% were unemployed; 14.5% were unmarried and other 8.8% patients were divorced or separated. Almost equal proportion of patients were from urban and rural areas. A family history of psychiatric disorder was present in 14.9% patients. More than half (57.3%) of the patients presented with first episode of depression. Mild depression was present in 38.87% patients, moderate depression in 38.06% patients and severe depression in 23.07% patients. Diabetes was the most common comorbid condition (31.5%) followed by hypertension (26.6%), migraine (24.6%), and chronic pain (16.6%). Majority (54%) of patients were prescribed combination of pharmacotherapy with psychotherapy. The most commonly prescribed drug for depression management was escitalopram (57.5%) followed by benzodiazepines (38.7%). Escitalopram was also the most commonly prescribed drug in patients with depression having comorbidities.Conclusions: Depression is common among both genders and more commonly seen among unemployed people and in those with family history of depression. The commonly reported comorbidities include diabetes, hypertension, migraine and chronic pain. Escitalopram is the most commonly used agent followed by benzodiazepines among patients of depression with or without comorbidities

Prescription pattern of alpha blockers in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in India: a paper based survey

Background: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common urological condition. The treatment of BPH depends on the severity of symptoms which aims to improve symptoms, lower the risk of progression and improve quality of life. The aim of this survey was to understand the prescription pattern of alpha blockers in the treatment of BPH among clinicians of India.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted between September to December 2018. Data regarding the management of BPH using α-blockers were filled by clinicians and collated for data analysis using appropriate statistical test.Results: Total of 1764 clinicians’ responses was collected and the result was analysed. According to the survey, 47.68% of clinicians felt that severity of the BPH symptoms is most common deciding factor for medical management of BPH. For the pharmacological management of BPH patients, around 58% of clinicians opted for α blockers monotherapy as a preferred option. Among α blockers, 65.14% of clinicians preferred tamsulosin as first line therapy for management of BPH patients. In this survey, 81.75% of clinicians believed that tamsulosin offers highest persistence rate among commonly prescribed α blockers. Looking at the switching to a second α-blocker, 75.45% of clinicians felt that tamsulosin shows the highest return rate following initiation of a second α-blocker. More than 90% of clinicians felt that favourable efficacy or tolerability of tamsulosin is due to its highest persistence and highest return rates.Conclusions: Tamsulosin is the most commonly preferred and prescribed α-blocker by Indian clinicians due to its favourable efficacy or tolerability