Publication

Abstract : Objectives: Careful consideration of the benefit to the mother and the risk to the fetus is required while prescribing drugs during pregnancy. This study was carried out in the city of Jizan to determine the possible irrational use of drugs and drug- drug interactions among the prescribed drugs in pregnant women. Method: This prospective cross sectional (descriptive) study was carried out in department of obstetrics and gynaecology of Jizan General Hospital in Jizan city (n=1012 prescriptions from the hospital’s pharmacy, November 2012–October 2013). The indicators assessed during the current study were average number of drugs, percentage of types of drugs, percentage of patient with prescribed injections, and with prescribed antibiotics. Result: The average number of drugs per patient was found to be 3.30. The most frequently prescribed drugs were oral iron, folic acid preparations, antibiotics and analgesics. Within the prescriptions the percentage of the drugs according to the categories was: Category A (70.12%), Category B drugs (15.31%), Category C drugs (13.24%), Category D drugs (1.33%), and Category X drugs 0.00% (none). Most common antibiotic prescribed was Cefalexin. Most common antacid prescribed was Ranitidine hydrochloride. The dose and duration of drug usage was clearly mentioned. Conclusion: Overall drug use pattern is rational with few exceptions. Majority of the drugs were prescribed as per FDA category A, the safest category during pregnancy. Hence we can conclude that poly pharmacy was not practiced as the average number of drugs per prescription was comparable with a standard set by WHO.