Drug Prescribing Patterns During Pregnancy in Pakistan
Author Information
Author(s): Rohra Dileep K, Das Nirmal, Azam Syed I, Solangi Nazir A, Memon Zahida, Shaikh Abdul M, Khan Nusrat H
Primary Institution: Aga Khan University
Hypothesis
What are the patterns of drug prescriptions to pregnant women in tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan?
Conclusion
Less than one percent of the pregnant women attending tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan are prescribed teratogenic drugs.
Supporting Evidence
- All pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics received a prescription containing at least one drug.
- Anti-anemic drugs were the most frequently prescribed, followed by analgesics and anti-bacterials.
- Only 0.8% of the women were prescribed teratogenic drugs.
Takeaway
Doctors in Pakistan are careful when prescribing drugs to pregnant women, and very few are given drugs that could harm their babies.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study was conducted at five tertiary care hospitals where outpatient prescriptions for pregnant women were collected and analyzed.
Potential Biases
Prescribers were unaware of the prescription collection to prevent bias.
Limitations
The study only included prescriptions from five hospitals and may not represent all prescribing practices in Pakistan.
Participant Demographics
The mean age of the women was 28.3 years, with a majority in their third trimester.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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