[A study of prescriptions for psychotropic drugs at a French psychiatric hospital]

The prescribing habits were studied in a psychiatric hospital which provides services for one district of Paris. The sample consisted of 175 inpatients. A mean of 2.1 psychotropic drugs was prescribed per patient, and more than two-thirds received two psychotropic drugs or more. Almost one-half had a PRN order. Major tranquilizers were frequently used in patients not having a psychotic disorder and were associated to anticholinergic drugs in 55% of the cases. Factors associated with drug prescriptions were diagnosis, age and unit of treatment. Our results are similar to those of previous studies on excessive polypharmacy. The discussion draws attention on the need to obtain data on the rationale for prescribing and the response to treatment. Emphasis is placed on the potential usefulness of studying drug prescriptions for psychiatric practice.