DRUG UTILIZATION PATTERN IN PREGNANCY IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA: A FIVE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS
KOSISOCHI CHINWENDU AMORHA 1, *, CHIOMA ASSUMPTA OKONKWO 2
1. Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, PMB 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria.
2. Department of Pharmacy, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, PMB 102, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 11(2): 125-136 ; 2019
ABSTRACT
Drugs prescribed in pregnancy may diffuse across the placenta to the foetus thereby posing risk of teratogenicity. The rational use of drugs in pregnancy is paramount. The general objective of the study was to assess the pattern of drug utilization in pregnant women who attended antenatal outpatient department in Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State (FETHA). A validated proforma was used to retrospectively retrieve information on drugs prescribed from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2017 using the World Health Organization/International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (WHO/INRUD) core prescribing indicators. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics using the IBM SPSS version 25. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research and Ethics Committee of Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State (FETHA) prior to conducting the study. A total of 1036 prescriptions were utilized, drawn from 415 patient folders. The mean age of the subjects was 30.66 ± 5.17. Most of the patients had tertiary education (82.6%) and were civil servants (46.6%). Patients’ obstetrics history showed that about a fifth (20.2%) were primigravid and a tenth (9.9%), in their first trimester. Abdominal/muscle pains (7.9%), upper respiratory tract infections (7.7%) and malaria (7.3%) occurred most frequently. Haematinics (45.3%) were the most prescribed drugs while amoxicillin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic (36.0%). The average number of drugs per encounter was 4.2. The percentage of encounters with an antibiotic and an injection prescribed were 12.9% and 0.96% respectively. Only 40.5% of the drugs were prescribed by their generic names. The average number of drugs per encounter was above the WHO/INRUD reference value. The percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name and from the essential drugs list or hospital formulary were less than 100%. Antibiotics and injections were not frequently prescribed. More efforts are needed to encourage rational prescribing, prescribing by generic name and the availability of drugs in the essential drugs list.
Email of correspondence:kosisochi.amorha@unn.edu.ng
KEYWORDS: Drug utilization; Pregnancy; Rational drug use; WHO/INRUD core indicators