Use of psychotropic drugs in gynecological, surgical, and medical wards ofgeneral hospitals

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalen ce of psychotropic drug use and the predictors of use during hospitalizatio n. Method: We investigated 728 patients admitted to medical, gynecological, and surgical wards of two non-university general hospitals in Austria for psychotropic drug use, psychiatric morbidity, and sociodemographic characte ristics. Results: The use of psychotropics was highest in medical wards (67 .6%), followed by surgical (59.3%), and gynecological wards (37.8%). Older age, psychiatric caseness, consultation by psychiatrists and use of psychot ropics before admission were predictors for psychotropic drug use. Psychotr opics were given for a longer duration to psychiatric cases than to non-cas es. Anxiolytics were prescribed most often (39.6%), followed by hypnotics ( 16.9%), neuroleptics (10.7%), and antidepressants (7.0%). Conclusions: The fact that psychiatric illness is a significant predictor of psychotropic dr ug use suggests that these drugs were prescribed aptly. The longer duration of use among psychiatric cases supports the idea of appropriate prescripti ons.