The Use of Simethicone in a Public Healthcare Organization in Riyadh Region

Aim: Simethicone is anti-flatulence medicine that is used to relieves abdominal pain due to excessive gas in the digestive tract. The present study aimed to describe the use of simethicone in a public healthcare organization in Riyadh Region.

Methodology: This is a retrospective study that includes reviewing the outpatient electronic prescriptions of simethicone in a public healthcare organization in Riyadh Region.

Results: During the study period, 113 patients received simethicone. More than 56 % of them were females and the age of 22.12% of them was between 50 and 59 years. More than 26% of the patients received simethicone for 1 week and 23.90% of them received simethicone for 1 month. Most of the prescriptions were written by residents (90.27%) and more than 57% of the prescriptions were prescribed by emergency department.

Conclusion: The present study showed that simethicone was prescribed frequently in a public healthcare organization in Riyadh Region. More studies are needed to explore the frequency of use and the appropriateness of prescribing simethicone and other anti-flatulence medicines.