ASSESSMENT OF PRESCRIPTION PATTERN IN HIGH-RISK PREGNANCY AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: Pregnancy is a special physiological condition where drug treatment presents a special concern. The aim of the study is to evaluate the pattern of drug use and WHO prescribing indicators in high-risk pregnancies. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out for a period of six months. A self-designed data collection form was used to collect the data from the prescriptions. The collected data was entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results: A total of 200 patients were included in this study. Preeclampsia (45, 22.5%) was the most frequently recorded complication, followed by eclampsia (43, 21.5%), anemia (34, 17%), and PIH (32, 16%). Antimicrobial agents (435, 32.5%) were the most frequently prescribed class of drug, followed by hematinics (194, 14.4%). A total of 1,338 drugs were prescribed in 200 patients. The average number of drugs per prescription was 6.69, the percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was 88.04%, the percentage of drugs prescribed from EDL was 83.10%, the percentage of prescriptions with an antibiotic prescribed was 88%, and the percentage of prescriptions with an injection prescribed was 76%. Conclusion: During pregnancy, as we see, every complication need treatment and different class of drugs in, which some drugs may cause serious side effect to both mother and fetus. The prescription pattern was suboptimal when compared to the WHO core prescribing indicators' suggested values. Studying drug prescribing patterns in high-risk pregnancies can help improve practices, leading to safer and more effective medication use and, ultimately better health outcomes for both mothers and fetuses.