Study of the antidepressant drugs consumption in a Hospital Pharmacy Service

Resumen

Depression is a disabling disease that affects more than 300 million of peoplearound the world, causing more than 800,000 suicides annually. This high incidenceand the increasing consumption of antidepressants in recent years encouraged usto quantify and analyze the consumption of this therapeutic group for one year ina Hospital Pharmacy Service, located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Between januaryand december 2016, 18,874 units in unitary dose were dispensed and the mostcommonly group used, which included trazadone and mirtazapine, was the named“Atypical Antidepressant” (50.66%). Because of its broad therapeutic spectrum,this group seems to be the most adequate for elderly patients, commonly users ofthe hospital under study. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors drugs, headed bysertraline, were the second most commonly group prescribed. Their adequate profileof adverse effects, which usually results in a very low drop-out rate together witha lower incidence of drug interactions, makes them a good therapeutic option foreminently polymedicated elderly people. It is well known that the effectiveness ofthe antidepressant drugs depend mostly on an adequate and long term treatmentadherence. For this reason, the hospital pharmacist interventions are necessary inorder to guarantee the right compliance and reduce the treatment withdrawal rate.