DRUG UTILIZATION PATTERN IN PREGNANCY AMONGST INPATIENT AND OUTPATIENT GROUPS IN A SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, NORTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Objective: Drugs prescribed in pregnancy may diffuse across the placenta to the fetus thereby posing a great risk of teratogenicity. In this study, drug utilization pattern in pregnancy amongst inpatient and outpatient groups was studied retrospectively in a specialist hospital in the North Western region of Nigerian.Methods: Drug prescription information was collected from case notes of 2634 patients that attended the antenatal clinic on an outpatient basis and those that were admitted due to complication(s) for a period of six months. Data collected were analyzed using Microsoft excel software and compared with FDA pregnancy categorization of drugs.Results: In the outpatient group, 215 patients had complaints that warranted the use of prescription drugs while in the inpatient group, 69 patients had complications that necessitated hospitalisation. In the outpatient group, prescribed drugs for the treatment of malaria (34%) and urinary tract infection (25%) were predominantly from FDA category B. In the inpatient group, drugs for malaria (18%), anemia (11.6%) and pre-eclampsia (11.6%) were the most prescribed. In the management of anemia, drugs prescribed were purely from FDA category A, while, in the case of pre-eclampsia, a significant amount of prescribed drugs were from FDA categories C and N.Conclusion: In both patient groups, no drug from FDA category X was prescribed. Therefore, it can be concluded that drugs prescribed in pregnancy in specialist hospital, Sokoto-Nigeria, were within a reasonable limit of safety. However, the use of drugs such as diazepam whose risks are yet to be classified should be avoided.