Prescription Pattern in Dermatological Conditions of the Pediatric Population

Dermatological disorders are common medical conditions that impact an individual's skin and mucous membranes. Their primary symptoms include redness, itching, rashes, and sometimes even deformity. Skin disorders come in a wide range of forms, from common conditions like eczema and acne to more serious conditions like dermatitis and psoriasis. The goal of the study is to assess prescription pattern of pediatric population diagnosed with any skin disease. An observational descriptive study was carried out among 120 samples in the Out-patient Department of Dermatology, ESIC MC - PGIMSR & Model Hospital, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru. The data was collected by using self-designed data collection form. All information’s were processed and analyzed by using Microsoft excel. It was found that out of 120 subjects included in the study, higher percentage was in males (54%) than females (46%) in which age group (12- 18, n= 75) was in majority. In this study Non-infective (46.67%) diseases were more compared to Infective diseases (36.30%), infestation (6.67%) and miscellaneous (10.37%). The most common route of administration was Topical route 69% (n= 251), in which the most common one was cream 36.6% (n= 135). Antifungals, 24.1% (n=88) were counted as the most prescribed in the list of common categories of drugs followed by antihistamines, antibiotics, corticosteroids. In the antifungals, fluconazole 3.84% (n=14) was the most prescribed in oral route and ketoconazole 7.12% (n=26) was the most prescribed in topical route. Out of 120 subject, 39 were prescribed with 4 or more drugs, this makes 32.5% of the total prescription having polypharmacy. The combination therapy (19.7%) is than that of monotherapy (80.3%). A total of 12 drugs were listed in NLEM 2022, out of which only 7 topical drugs were found to be prescribed in the current study. Out of the total 36 topical drugs used in the department, 29 drugs were found to be not listed in NLEM-2022. The prescription pattern study in pediatric skin disease provides important information about how children with dermatological conditions are currently treated. The results emphasize the variety of drugs that are prescribed and the complexity of pediatric skin conditions. The most preferred prescribing therapy was monotherapy. Topical rote of administration was the most prescribed, it might be because of the onsite action and less side effects of topical medications compared to other route of administration.