Drug Utilization Pattern among Stroke Patients – A Cross-sectional Insight

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate drug utilization pattern among stroke patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 96 stroke patients aged from 30 to 92 years in a hospital in Malaysia. A total of 88 patients were available for descriptive analysis and logistic regression analysis. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: On average, patients were aged 67.62 years (standard deviation of 13.14) and had a higher incidence in Malay ethnicity (42.7%). Ischemic stroke accounts for 91.67% of the study, with a slightly higher proportion of female patients (51.04%). Majority of stroke patient complaint generalized body weakness as their major symptom (19.81%). Calcium channel blocker was found to be the most used antihypertensive agent among stroke patients (40.9%) followed by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) (31.8%). Conclusion: Using logistic regression modeling, it was determined that the factors of a subject would affect the choice of prescribing of ACEIs and anticoagulant drugs.