Prescribing patterns and cost-utility analysis of management of childhood asthma in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Objective This study is based on a retrospective cross-sectional study to assess the prescribing patterns and cost-utility analysis of management of childhood asthma in Saudi Arabia. Methods Prescription data were collected for 1 year from electronic records of pharmacy. The unit dose price was retrieved from pharmacy database and compared with daily price based on WHO Defined Daily Dose (DDD) and Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA). The cost of each drug is calculated from average prices of each unit dose of each prescription. Key findings In male children (57.98%), asthma was more common in comparison to female children (41.02%) at the studied hospital. Salbutamol (44.55%) was the most commonly prescribed medication followed by budesonide (30.97%) and montelukast (12.82%), whereas prednisolone (0.15%) was the least prescribed medication for the management of childhood asthma. It was found that fixed-dose combination of budesonide and formetrol prescribed for the longest duration of therapy (30 days) and imposed highest cost as well [197.10 SR (52.53 USD)] among all the prescribed medicine. Conclusion In this study, inhalation route is the most preferred one for management of asthma; this may be due to their fast therapeutic action. Salbutamol was the most popular drug for quick reliever therapy, while budesonide was the most favoured drug for childhood asthma management. Medication prescribed for the management of childhood asthma at the mentioned study centre adhere to SINA guideline.