THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS AND DRUG USE TREND OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED ANTIBIOTICS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Authors

  • Ramy Abdallah , Aminah Almadani , Salem Bahwireth , Yazan Alyamani , Hanouf Alsulami , Lama Alsobhi Author

Abstract

Aim: Antibiotic drug resistance can result from the inappropriate use of antibiotics, which is a global concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and pattern of drug use. To encourage their sensible use, studies are carried out to examine the pattern of antibiotic prescriptions, their adherence to accepted practices, and the financial impact on the patients.
Method: The study was intended to be a cross-sectional, single-center retrospective pharmacy database investigation of cost-utility relationships for the five most widely prescribed antibiotics in Saudi Arabia. The study included data spanning from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019.  Frequencies and percentages of the demographic traits were displayed, together with the Wilson 95% confidence intervals for the proportions. The adherence of Saudi Arabia's antibiotic prescription practices to the National Antimicrobial Guidelines was compared using the chi-square test (for P-value computation).
Results: The highest percentage of patients (35.97%) came from the 18–35 age group, and the lowest percentage (1.82%) was from the 72–88 age group. The greatest number of units administered was 22487 for amoxicillin and clavulanic acid, which was given to 42.93% of patients; the lowest number was 8.04% for ciprofloxacin (4215). Cefdenir had the longest therapeutic duration (7.23 days), while azithromycin had the shortest length (3.58 days). Cefdenir 38.66SR (10.31 USD) had the highest cost, while Cefuroxime 12.43SR (3.31 USD) had the lowest estimated cost.

Conclusion: Because of their broad spectrum of activity against a variety of microorganisms, our study found that amoxicillin and clavulanic acid were the most commonly utilized first-line medicines in the treatment of bacterial infections.
Before prescribing, laboratory testing to determine the type of bacterium could stop the emergence of medication resistance and preserve the antibiotic for later use. For any indication that might encourage the prudent use of antibiotics, cost-benefit analyses of the medications must be carried out.

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Published

2025-01-21

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How to Cite

THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS AND DRUG USE TREND OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED ANTIBIOTICS IN SAUDI ARABIA. (2025). CAHIERS MAGELLANES-NS, 584-591. https://magellanes.com/index.php/CMN/article/view/1241