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Audit of drug wastage and its financial cost in anaesthesia: Observation from a tertiary care centre

Purpose: Drug wastage is a major concern in anaesthesia. In addition to increasing the cost on the patient, it can increase the occupational hazard to the health care and sanitary workers and also cause environmental pollution. The principal objective of this study was to ascertain the extent of drug wastage in anaesthetics and ancillary drugs and calculate the financial costs of it at a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: This was a prospective study and was conducted to ascertain the quantity of drug wastage. This pilot study was conducted in the operation theatre between the months of March and April 2016. The prescription of the anaesthetic drugs, the recommended dose, the quantity used and remainder (waste) left were recorded. Costs of the drugs used and wasted were calculated. The financial loss incurred was thus calculated. Results: The results of this study indicated that maximum wastage of the anaesthetic drugs was for atropine sulphate (71.67%), fentanyl (40%), mephentermine sulphate (40%) and bupivacaine (33.62%). The cost analysis indicated that propofol contributed to the maximum as the financial loss was estimated to be 29.27% of the total loss, followed by bupivacaine 18.95%. Conclusion: The results indicate that the quantity and the financial impact of anaesthetic drug wastage were considerable and that efforts should be at minimising the expenditure without risking the patient's life or health.