@article {209, title = {Antibiotic Prescribing Pattern at Primary Health Centers in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia}, journal = {PTB Reports}, volume = {7}, year = {2021}, month = {December 2021}, pages = {102-106}, type = {Research Article}, chapter = {102}, abstract = {

Objectives: This study aims to identify antibiotic prescribing patterns in Riyadh{\textquoteright}s Primary health care centers (PHCs). Methods: The study was a one-month cross-sectional medication prescription survey conducted at 25 PHCs in Riyadh. Results: A total of 18031 prescriptions were recorded in all 25 PHCs during the study period. Antibiotics were present in 3,879 (21.51\%) of all prescriptions. The percentage of antibiotics prescribed varied from one primary care center to another; the highest documented percentage was 38.01 \%. In comparison, the lowest proportion was discovered to be 10.56\% of total antibiotics prescribed, with 3,131 (80.67 \%) being bactericidal and 748 (19.3 \%) being bacteriostatic. Capsules were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic dosage form 1,240 (32\%), Amoxicillin was the antibiotic most frequently prescribed 1628 (42\%), followed by a combination of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate 797 (20.5\%). Of the total prescriptions, 2931 (75.6\%) were written with generic names, while 948 (24.4\%) were written with brand (trade) names. Amoxicillin was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic with a generic name (52.7\%), while Amoxicillin/Clavulanate was the most usually prescribed antibiotic with the brand name {\textquotedblleft}Augmentin{\textquotedblright} (69.4\%). The frequency of antibiotics prescribed to patients who did not have a documented indication for Amoxicillin was 270. (6.9\%). Conclusion: Antibiotics were prescribed in one-third of PHC prescriptions. Antimicrobial stewardship programs and training for healthcare professionals are needed at PHCs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

}, keywords = {Antibiotic, Pattern, Prescribing, Primary Health Centers, Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.}, doi = {10.5530/PTB.2021.7.17}, author = {Zainab Albahooth and Yousef Ahmed Alomi and Samia Zaben Almurshadi and Hind Nasser Altamimi and Abdulaziz Hussain Alhussain} }