Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan 14;14(1):9.
doi: 10.1186/s40545-020-00292-6.

Patterns of infections and antimicrobial drugs' prescribing among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study

Mohamed A Baraka  1   2 , Lina Hussain AlLehaibi  3 , Hind Nasser AlSuwaidan  4 , Duaa Alsulaiman  5 , Md Ashraful Islam  6 , Badriyah Shadid Alotaibi  7 , Amany Alboghdadly  8 , Ali H Homoud  9 , Fuad H Al-Ghamdi  10 , Mastour S Al Ghamdi  11 , Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar  12
Affiliations

Patterns of infections and antimicrobial drugs' prescribing among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study

Mohamed A Baraka et al. J Pharm Policy Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial agents are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in pregnancy due to the increased susceptibility to infections during pregnancy. Antimicrobials can contribute to different maternal complications. Therefore, it is important to study their patterns in prescription and utilization. The data regarding this issue is scarce in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to generate data on the antimicrobial agents that are most commonly prescribed during pregnancy as well as their indications and safety.

Methods: This is a retrospective study focusing on pregnant women with a known antimicrobial use at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH). The sample included 344 pregnant women with a total of 688 antimicrobial agents prescribed. Data was collected on the proportion of pregnant women who received antimicrobial agents and on the drug safety during pregnancy using the risk categorization system of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Results: The results showed that urinary tract infections (UTIs) were the most reported (59%) infectious diseases. Around 48% of pregnant women received antimicrobial medications at some point during pregnancy. The top two antimicrobial agents based on prescription frequency were B-lactams (44.6%) and azole anti-fungals (30%). The prescribed drugs in the study were found to be from classes B, C and D under the FDA risk classification system.

Conclusion: The study revealed a high proportion of antimicrobials prescribed during pregnancy that might pose risks to mothers and their fetuses. Future multicenter studies are warranted to evaluate the rational prescription of antimicrobial medications during pregnancy.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Antimicrobial drugs; Antimicrobial resistance; Antimicrobial stewardship programs; Drug utilization pattern; Infections; Pregnancy; Saudi Arabia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no any kind of competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sample selection procedures
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of pregnant women who received antimicrobial prescriptions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Daw JR, Hanley GE, Greyson DL, Morgan SG. Prescription drug use during pregnancy in developed countries: a systematic review. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2011;20(9):895–902. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Theiler RN. Evidence-based antimicrobial therapy in pregnancy: long overdue. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2009;86(3):237–238. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2009.123. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lockitch G. Maternal–fetal risk assessment. Clin Biochem. 2004;37(6):447–449. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2004.03.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Geerlings SE. Clinical presentations and epidemiology of urinary tract infections. Urin Tract Infect Mol Pathog Clin Manag. 2017;27–40.
    1. Ray K, Bala M, Bhattacharya M, Muralidhar S, Kumari M, Salhan S. Prevalence of RTI/STI agents and HIV infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic women attending peripheral health set-ups in Delhi, India. Epidemiol Infect. 2008;136(10):1432–1440. doi: 10.1017/S0950268807000088. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources