Drug prescribing pattern in pregnancy in a secondary care hospital in south India: a retrospective study

Abstract

This study reflects a good, safe and rational medication practice during pregnancy in various common disorders in a secondary care hospital and can be cited as an example to similar primary and secondary care hospitals.

Drug Prescribing Pattern During Intranatal Period in a Secondary Care Hospital in South India

“…In a study done previously, drug prescribing pattern in pregnancy to antenatal mothers in the same secondary care hospital was also very safe and rational. 13 The limitation of our study was that detailed demographic data of all mothers were not available at the time of data collection.…”

Evaluation of Usage of Drugs in Pregnancy at Private Hospitals

“…[1][2] Medicine is a chemical substance used in the prevention, cure, and treatment of the disease. 3 Every drug has its pharmacological actions. The pharmacokinetics of certain drugs is altered by the specific physiological change that occurred during pregnancy in the women.…”

“…The pharmacokinetics of certain drugs is altered by the specific physiological change that occurred during pregnancy in the women. 4 Safety profile of drug used in pregnancy is not directly established in human pregnancy. This is because clinical trial studies of drugs exclude the special population like geriatrics, pediatrics, and pregnant women due to ethical and legal reasons.…”

“…7 The thalidomide tragedy occurred in the 1960s, which is the main reason behind the malformed limbs of thousands of babies during that time. 4 So, it is important to consider several factors before prescribing a drug in pregnant women, like 1) Dose and frequency of administration of drug, 2) Time of exposure of drug in body, 3) Antimicrobials prescriptions and 4) Teratogenic effect of the prescribing drug. 8 Prescription pattern monitoring studies (PPMS) is a tool for determining the pattern of prescribing, dispensing, and administering of the medications.…”

“…These categories were established by assessing the risk-to-benefit ratio and well-controlled studies. 4 Evaluation of drugs used in pregnancy is very essential because the use and availability of medications are changing time by time. Changing maternal characteristics play an important role in the prescription of a drug during pregnancy.…”