Background: Regardless of the availability of various effective anti-diabetic drugs to reduce the blood glucose by various mechanisms, still major diabetic population on anti-diabetic drug therapy have recorded poor glycemic control and high diabetic vascular complications.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this research is to study the prescribing pattern and efficacy of anti-diabetic drugs in maintaining ideal glycemic levels in diabetic patients.

Materials and Methods: A prospective, cross sectional, observational study has been conducted on a sample size of 150 patients of diabetes mellitus and attending diabetes outpatient departments at Department of Medicine and Department of Pharmacology, L N Medical College and research Center Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh for 6 months from Jan 2018 to July 2018. Blood glucose level was measured with the help of glucometer, to determine the glycemic control.

Results: Average number of anti-diabetic drugs prescribed per prescription was 1.4. Drug class Sulfonylureas the most common on the prescriptions. However among the hypoglycemic agents (OHA), metformin (biguanide) was the most common prescribed individual drug. In combination drugs fixed dose of biguanide and sulfonylurea was majorly prescribed. Monotherapy has been used more than the polytherapy and the percentage use of insulin in Type 2 diabetics was very high. Out of 150, only 63(42%) patients on anti-diabetic therapy had recorded optimal glycemic control. The recorded association between the anti-diabetic therapy with lifestyle changes and glycemic control was statistically significant (P = 0.0011).

Conclusions: OHAs was still dominating the drugs prescribed, however in cases of Type 2 diabetes mellitus a clear shifting trend toward the insulin preparations was noticed. In our study we found that in optimal glycemic control, anti-diabetic drugs has efficacy of 42% only and therefore increase of current drug treatment along with planning of multiple drug interventions with lifestyle modification is essential.