Distribution of Therapeutic and FDA Pregnancy Categories among Drugs Prescribed for Pregnant Women in Sana`a, Yemen

Abstract

Background: The concern of using medicines in pregnancy is due to the threat of potential teratogenic effects of the drug and physiologic adjustments in the mother in response to the pregnancy. Aim: to determine the distributions of therapeutic categories and FDA pregnancy categories among drug prescribed for pregnant women in Sana`a-Yemen. Methods: A sample of 924 medications orders prescribed for pregnant women in Sana`a-Yemen, was analyzed in this study. The sample was divided into two groups: Hospital and clinic prescriptions. Within each group, drugs were categorized according to their therapeutic effects and then according to the FDA system of classification for drugs in pregnancy. Results: The overall distributions of GIT drugs (29.2 %,), systemic antibacterials (18.3%) and vitamins hematinics (17%), among the prescribed drugs, were larger than the other categories. Based on the FDA system, the overall distributions of FDA categories A, B, C, D, X and the non-classified category among the prescribed drugs were 8.2%, 40.9 %, 20.3 %, 4.6 %, 0.7 % and 25.3 %, respectively. There were no significant variations (P > 0.05) in the distribution of therapeutic or FDA categories between the hospital and clinic prescriptions. Conclusions: Majority (64.5 %) of drugs prescribed for pregnant women in Sana`a-Yemen belongs to the GIT drugs, systemic antibacterials, vitamins and hematinics categories. In another respect, the distribution of risky drugs belonging to FDA categories (D and X) and the non-classified category comprises 30.6 % of all drugs prescribed for pregnant women.