Prevalence, risk factors, and prescribing trends in chronic renal failure in the Indian population

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Chronic renal failure (CRF) in the Indian subcontinent and to identify risk factors and treatment regimens for CRF. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out for 7 months. A total of 200 patients with a level of creatinine >1.5 mg/dl were enrolled. CRF prevalence was measured using the hospital's inpatient department registry and medical records. The risk factors and prescribing were evaluated from the patient file report. Results: The prevalence rate of CRF was 13.7%. Male patients (59%) dominate the entire group of patients. Most patients (n = 52) were found between the age group of 71–80 years with a mean age of 62.67 ± 16.33 years. Drugs such as diuretics, and hypoglycemics were indicated to treat comorbidities. The average number of drugs per prescription were 7.43 ± 2.75 with high use of antimicrobial agents (88%). Out of 156 drugs prescribed, 76 were from essential as per essential Drug List 2017. Hypertension (P = 0.0072) and diabetes (P = 0.0084) were major concerns as risk factors followed by the drugs used for dyslipidemia, and recurrent infections. Conclusion: The prevalence rate was found to be 13.7% with significant association with risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, dyslipidemia, chronic infections, smoking, and renal calculus for CRF. The pattern of prescribing was suitable and with few irrationalities.