ISSN: 2474-9230
Authors: HajElamin AE, Mohammed RR, Iman AM, HajElamin OE and Abdallah EM*
Objective: The objective of this study was to provide information on the prevalence of use of antibiotics to Sudanese pregnant women, some of which may have feto-toxic or teratogenic effects, in the outpatient setting. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective cross sectional hospital based study, which carried out in Military Hospitals and Khartoum Teaching Hospital (Sudan) from Jan. 2014 to Jan. 2015. Data collection was used to extract the information from 650 pregnant patient’s files. The information recorded included: age, trimester, medical history and administered antibiotic. Data was analyzed using SPSS16 software on the Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Operating System, with p <0.05 considered statically significant, using Chi square test. Results: About 76% of women (N = 494) were dispensed an antibiotic medications and the consumption was significantly higher in the second trimester (4-6 months) 41.5% of women (N = 205) than first trimester (1-3 months) 33.2% of women (N = 164) and third trimester (7-9 months) 25.3% of women (N = 125). The most common antibiotic dispensed during pregnancy were Amoxicillin (No=182; 28%), Cephalexin (No=148; 22.7%), Cefixime (No= 37; 5.7%), Erythromcin (No=29; 4.46%), Cefopodoxim (No= 28; 4.3%), Benzyl penicillin (No= 27; 4.15%), Clotrimazole-V (No= 22; 3.38%), Clotrimazole+betamethazone (No= 16; 2.46%) and Metronidazole (No= 5; 0.77%). Amoxicillin is the most commonly dispensed antibiotic in the third trimester (7-9 months) No= 47, Cephalaxin is the most commonly dispensed antibiotic drugs in the second trimester (4-6 months) No= 84 and Metronidazole is used by three pregnant women during second trimester. In hypertensive and diabetic pregnant women, the most common used drug is Amoxicillin and Cephalexin. Conclusions: Antibiotics are highly prescribed to pregnant Sudanese women. The prevalence of usage of antibiotics that are suspected to be feto-toxic or teratogenic especially in first trimester (Metronidazole) was low in this cohort of pregnant women. The prescription of drugs during pregnancy must be evaluated carefully, weighing the risks versus benefits for both fetus and mother. Antibiotics with possible toxic potential should therefore be prescribed by the physician and checked by clinical pharmacists only if the infectious disease is life-threatening and there is no other choice for its treatment.
Keywords: Pregnant Women; Antibiotics; Amoxicillin; Sudan
