Rajesh A. Kamtane

Most of pregnant women take prescription or non-prescription drugs during pregnancy. In general, unless absolutely necessary, drugs should not be used during pregnancy because it can affect the fetus .The aim of this study was to evaluate the patterns of drug prescriptions to pregnant women in tertiary care hospital. It was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at MediCiti Institute of Medical Sciences, a tertiary care hospital of Medchal, Hyderabad. Prescriptions given to outpatients and inpatients pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics were collected. A simple questionnaire was used to gather information. The drugs were classified according to the pharmacological class and their teratogenic potential. The most frequently prescribed drugs were oral iron, folic acid preparations, antacids, antibacterials and analgesics. Majority were in accordance with WHO criteria for rational use of drugs except for prescription by generic names. Average number of drugs per encounter was 3.5, most common route of administration was oral. Most commonly used drugs were iron, folic acid. Most common antibiotic prescribed was amoxicillin. Most common condition for which drugs were prescribed was cough, backache and fever. All the prescribed drugs were available in hospital pharmacy in sufficient quantities.

Inappropriate use of drugs for self-medication leads to emergence of drug resistant pathogens and poses serious health hazards. To assess the pattern of self-medication among residents of Hyderabad city. The study was conducted in December 2011. It was a community based cross-sectional survey on a sample of 238 households, which were selected randomly.  Data was collected by pre-designed questionnaire. The most common system involved was the respiratory system (21.34 %). Analgesics were most commonly used drugs for self medication (18.48%) followed by usage of antibiotics (16.80%). Most of the drugs for self-medication were obtained from drug retail outlets (35.71%) followed by friends/ neighbors’/ family practice (34.45%). The major reason for using self-medication was attitude of not to waste money on doctors’ fees (37.81%) followed by inability to afford doctors’ fees (25.63%).From the study it was concluded that majority of the persons go for self medication without proper knowledge of dose, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions. Hence, the issue needs to be addressed by the responsible authorities of State Pharmacy Council/Ministry of Health. The availability of drugs in informal sectors contributed to the increase in self-medication. Though self-medication is hard to eliminate, drug law enforcement and educating the public at large is vital.