PREVALENCE AND PRESCRIBING PATTERNS OF ANTIDEPRESSANT AND ANTIPSYCHOTIC MEDICATIONS AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS AT A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

Wariowei Boutuaere Otogie, Timi Fiekumo Buseri, Owonaro A. Peter*, Ibegi, Ibegi Saviour, Olodiama, Providencia Chichi, Henry Messiah TMT, Osain Henry

ABSTRACT

Background.  Depression and other mental disorders are common among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and undermine antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and clinical outcomes. Although antidepressants and antipsychotics are effective, their real-world utilization among PLWHA is poorly characterised in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and contemporary Nigerian data—especially from the high-burden Niger Delta—are scarce. Objective. To estimate the prevalence of antidepressant and antipsychotic use and describe prescribing patterns among PLWHA attending a tertiary HIV clinic in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Methods.  A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, between January and December 2023. Using the Taro Yamane formula a target of 381 adult PLWHA was set; 336 participated (response rate 88.2%). Data were collected through a structured, pre-tested questionnaire and medical records, and analysed descriptively in SPSS v27. Results.  Overall, 77 participants (22.9%) had been prescribed a psychotropic medication—20.8% an antidepressant, 2.1% an antipsychotic and 0.6% both. Fluoxetine accounted for 68.8% of antidepressant prescriptions, and a haloperidol–olanzapine combination (6.5%) was the most frequent antipsychotic regimen. Psychiatrists prescribed 81.8% of antidepressants, medicines were taken daily (89.6%) and orally (92.2%), and were obtained mainly from the public hospital (67.5%) and community pharmacies (24.7%). Conclusion.  Nearly one in four PLWHA at FMC Yenagoa received psychotropic therapy, dominated by fluoxetine and concentrated in the hands of a single psychiatric service. The findings reveal a pattern of centralised, specialist-dependent prescribing that constrains access and supports the case for task-shifted, integrated mental-health care.

Keywords:

drug utilization; antidepressants; antipsychotics; HIV/AIDS; prescribing patterns; Nigeria

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