Non-Approved Uses of Selected Psychotropic Drugs and Pharmacy Students' Understanding

Abstract

A survey carried out among first year pharmacy students on their knowledge and opinions regarding the uses of non-FDA approved use of selected psychotropic drugs, namely duloxetine, escitalopram and quetiapine, revealed mixed results. Based on a set of five knowledge-based questions, an average of 39.5% of the survey participants scored correct answers on duloxetine. For escitalopram, the average correct response rate was 47.2%, and 32.2% for quetiapine. The highest correct response rate on a single question was 89.5% for duloxetine, 87.2% on two of the questions for escitalopram, and 77.1% for quetiapine. Comparison of each of the highest correct response to each of the responses within each drug showed significant differences (p< 0.05). Conflicting opinions of survey participants were discerned regarding the off-label uses of duloxetine, with 65.8% expressing it should not be approved for urinary incontinence, and yet they are evenly divided (50% each) in their opinion on the use of non-approved drugs in general. More than 50% of the respondents held the opinion that escitalopram should not be used off-label for social phobia, while less than 41% were aware of its use for such non-approved indication. About 60% of respondents within the quetiapine survey group thought the drug should not be used for generalized anxiety disorder, which is in concordance with the low 36%-40% who believe it should be promoted for non-approved uses. Due to the small sample size of survey participants (n =37-39), the results of this survey cannot be generalized to first-year pharmacy students in other colleges of pharmacy.