Pharmacotherapy for Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19: A Drug Utilization Study in a COVID-19 dedicated Unit of a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana

Author(s): Charles NK Ofei-Palm, Priscilla Ekpale, Evelyn Pokuaa Gyekye, Florence Amah Nkansah, Dong Jatoe , Anthony Osei, Nicholas Adjimani, Augustina Koduah, Daniel Ankrah

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has also presented an unprecedented challenge to identify effective drugs for prevention and treatment. And in view of that, it is important to understand the determinants and patterns of pharmacological treatment over time as such knowledge helps to contextualize and understand the drivers of treatment in the management of COVID 19 patients This was a retrospective study conducted in a COVID-19 confirmed positive hospitalized patients at a dedicated unit of a tertiary hospital A total 88.6% (47/53) had comorbidity (s). The mean age of the study participants was 47.1 ± 17.9 years. Women accounted for 58.5%, (31/53) positivity of the patients A total of 493 drugs were prescribed to manage COVID-19 symptoms and co-existent comorbidity(s) The mean medication per patient was 9.3±4.3. Per the various dosage forms, the mean per injection per patient was 2.6±1.7 whilst that of oral dosage form the median was 6±2.3 The most commonly prescribed class of drugs were Multivitamins/supplements (108, 27.1%), followed by anticoagulants (65, 16.3%), antihypertensive (64, 15.8%), antibiotics (64, 15.8%) and others (108, 15%) For the management of COVID 19 symptoms, high doses of vitamin C, Zinc and doxycycline (antimicrobial) were most prescribed whilst losartan and insulin mixtard were most frequently prescribed class of drugs for the management of COVID 19 comorbidities of hypertension and diabetes respectively.