OBJECTIVES:

The impact of diabetes on health care expenditures has been increasingly recognized. Number of ‘cost of illness’ studies has shown a threefold increase in the direct costs of diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prescription patterns and cost of illness of type II diabetic patients along with the trends in anti-diabetic and antihypertensive drug use patterns among patients with type II diabetes patients with and without comorbidities.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional study where the drug utilization data was collected from May to July 2022 in the medicine ward of KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital Nepal.

RESULTS:

In total, data were collected from 120 type II diabetic patients admitted to the medicine ward. 25 patients (20.83%) were without any comorbidities. Remaining 95 patients (79.16%) had at least one co-morbidity along with diabetes of which cardiovascular was most common. The mean age of study population was 53 years. Most of the patients (n=69, 57.5%) had hypertension. Dual antidiabetic therapy was the predominant way of management with sulfonylureas and metformin 38.33% (46 of 120 patients). In diabetic patients with hypertension, ACEIs were preferably used. Total direct cost (cost of drugs, cost of investigations and cost of hospitalization) accounted for majority of cost compared to the indirect cost associated with the expense of illness. Out of which cost of drug was the main contributing factor for the high cost. Median of total cost of Illness for diabetic care without any complication was NRs 40,038.8/- per patient per annum (USD 304.16) and with complication was NRs 62,941.5/-per annum (USD 478.17).

CONCLUSIONS:

The treatment pattern for diabetes complies with the recommended guidelines. The study suggests government to ensure the patient affordability of essential medicines in public health facility.