Antibiotic-prescribing patterns for Iraqi patients during Ramadan

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic data for the patients and prescriptions

Parameter	Value
Age, years	33.74±10.58
Sex, female/male	23/11
Fasting patients	23 (67.6%)
Number of Rx	34
Number of antibiotics prescribed	44
Number of Rx with one antibiotic	24 (70.6%)
Number of Rx with two antibiotics	10 (29.4%)
Number of Rx according to physician specialty
Dentists	12 (35.3%)
Surgeons	9 (26.5%)
Gynecologists	6 (17.7%)
General practitioners	3 (8.8%)
Radiologists	2 (5.9%)
Urologists	1 (2.9%)
Dermatologists	1 (2.9%)
Pharmacological classification of prescribed antibiotics*
Antiprotozoal (metronidazole)	14 (29.1%)
Aminoglycoside	2 (4.2%)
Cephalosporin	13 (27.1%)
Macrolide	5 (10.4%)
Penicillin	5 (10.4%)
Quinolone	8 (16.7%)
Tetracyclines	1 (2.1%)

Notes:

* The actual number of prescribed antibiotics is higher than 44 since some antibiotic medications are combination of 2 antibiotics, like Rodogyl^®. Age was presented as mean plus minus standard deviation, while other parameters presented as numbers (with some presented with numbers and percentages between brackets).

Abbreviation: Rx, prescriptions.

Table 2 Patients’ fasting status according to disease etiology

Disease	Fasting	Nonfasting
Dental infections and dental procedure prophylaxis	7 (58.3%)	5 (41.7%)
GIT infections	3 (60%)	2 (40%)
UTIs and renal stones	8 (66.7%)	4 (33.3%)
Gynecological infections	1 (100%)	0
Dermatological infections	1 (100%)	0
Others (like wound and surgical prophylaxis)	3 (100%)	0

Abbreviations: GIT, gastrointestinal tract; UTIs, urinary tract infections.

Table 3 Relationship between fasting and number of Rx antibiotics

Number of antibiotics in Rx	Frequency of antibiotic usage	Patient asked about fasting by the physician	Fasting	Nonfasting
Single antibiotic	Once	7 (87.5%)	6 (75%)	2 (25%)
	Twice	10 (66.7%)	10 (66.7%)	5 (33.3%)
	Thrice	1 (100%)	1 (100%)	0
Double antibiotics	Once	2 (100%)	2 (100%)	0
	Twice	3 (100%)	3 (100%)	0
	Thrice	3 (60%)	3 (60%)	2 (40%)

Abbreviation: Rx, prescriptions.

Table 4 Antibiotic-dosing regimen according to fasting status of the patient

Parameter	Antibiotic-dosing regimen
	Once daily	Twice daily	Thrice daily
Fasting	3 (13.04%)	11 (47.82%)	9 (39.14%)
Nonfasting	3 (27.27%)	6 (54.55%)	2 (18.18%)
P-value	0.3	0.7	0.22

Table 5 Single versus double antibiotics prescribing according to fasting status of the patient

Parameter	Number of antibiotics used
	Single	Double
Fasting	17	8
Nonfasting	7	2
P-value	0.041	0.057

Table 6 Correlation between the physician questioning the patient about fasting and other parameters

Parameter	Correlation coefficient	P-value
Antibiotics prescribed	0.054	0.763
Frequency of use per day	−0.218	0.215
Fasting status of the patient	0.506	0.002

Table 7 Antibiotics prescribed in a modified dosing regimen

Antibiotic	Dosing regimen	Number of cases	Fasting status	Physician asked about fasting
Metronidazole	Twice daily	3	2	3
Gentamicin	Once daily	1	1	1