Abstract: Objective To analyze statistically the splitting of oral tablets for inpatients in a psychiatric hospital in order to provide reference for the safety and effectiveness of medication. Methods The medical orders for oral tablets given to inpatients in our hospital between September 2019 and February 2020 were collected. The top 20 medicines were analyzed statistically in terms of names, types, departments involved, and gender and age of patients. Results The percentage of medical orders for splitting of tablets among the total orders for tablets was 10.58%. The number of medical orders with the split dose of 1/2 was the largest, accounting for 94.77%. The top drugs involving splitting of tablets included risperidone, clonazepam, quetiapine, clozapine and diazepam. Departments with the largest number of medical orders for splitting tablets for inpatients were the Department of General Psychiatry, Department of Geriatric Psychology and Department of Diseases of Children and Adolescents. Antipsychotics, sedative hypnotics and antidepressants were dominating. Medical orders for splitting of tablets for female patients outnumbered those for male ones. Conclusion As required by special medicines and dosage, the splitting of oral tablets is widely used among inpatients in psychiatric hospitals. Pharmacists should check the quality of the splitting of oral tablets in order to promote the clinical rational use of drugs and ensure the safety and effectiveness of medication.

Key words: inpatients, oral administration, tablet splitting, psychiatric hospital