The Prescribing Trends of Vitamin D Supplements and the Concurrent Use of Medicines for Chronic Conditions

Aim: This study aims to determine the prescribing patterns of vitamin D supplements in a public hospital in Al-Kharj.

Methodology: This cross-sectional drug utilization study was conducted at a public hospital in Al-Kharj that included a review of the outpatient electronic prescriptions in 2018. Therefore, inclusion criteria included the outpatient prescriptions that contain Vitamin D supplement in 2018. The data were collected using Microsoft Excel® and the descriptive data were represented as numbers and percentages.

Results: In 2018, 311 patients were prescribed Alfacalcidol. Most of the patients who received Alfacalcidol were females (76.21%), aging 40-69 (58.85%). The majority of Alfacalcidol drugs were prescribed by Internal Medicine department (56.91%). In 2018, 127 patients were received Cholecalciferol. Most of the patient were females (79.53%), in the age level between 30-39 (21.26%) followed by patients less than 10 years (18.90%). The majority of Cholecalciferol drugs were prescribed by Internal Medicine department (30.71%).

Conclusion: Vitamin D supplements were used frequently with other medicines for chronic conditions. More studies are needed to know the effect of Vitamin D supplements in the prevention or treatment of chronic diseases. Moreover, in order to use vitamin D supplements correctly, it is important to know the prescribing trends of these supplements.