Prescribing trends in psychotropic medications among outpatients of a Latin American Healthcare setting: a five-year retrospective study

Purpose: : Mental health problems affect an estimated 700 million people worldwide, and the prescription of psychotropic drugs is increasing globally. The World Health Organization has called for adequate surveillance of psychotropic drug prescriptions. This study aims to characterize and find trends in the prescription of psychotropics in a Latin American Hospital. Methods: : The study analyzed the dispensation of psychotropic prescriptions to outpatients at three pharmacies in the central headquarters of Hospital Clínica Bíblica in San José, Costa Rica, from 2017 to 2021. Psychotropic drugs were classified by ATC groups, and the amount of each medication dispensed was standardized using the defined daily dose per 10000 population per day metric. The prescriptions were categorized according to medical specialty. Results: : A total of 5793 psychotropic prescriptions were recorded. The average age of the patients was 58 years. The total consumption of psychotropics decreased by 33.94% from 2017 to 2021, with the most significant decline until 2020. However, there was an increase in consumption in 2021. The most commonly used drugs were clonazepam, bromazepam, and alprazolam. Alprazolam was the only drug that showed an increase in consumption. Anxiolytics were the most commonly prescribed group of drugs. General medicine and psychiatry were the primary specialties that prescribed psychotropics. Conclusion: : the consumption of psychotropic drugs decreased from 2017 to 2020 but increased in 2021, with alprazolam being the only drug that showed an increase in consumption throughout the entire period. The elderly population was found to be the group that consumed the most psychotropics.