Abstract
Background: There is an increase in the indiscriminate use of PPIs during the past decades. The adverse effects of PPIs urge to control their prolonged use. This study aimed to get a clear understanding of the pattern of PPI prescriptions, assessment of the duration of administration focussing on the various predisposing conditions resulting in their prolonged use. Methodology: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out using a pre-designed questionnaire involving the adult subjects from Taif city in the western region of Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted during the period from March 2018 to August 2018 using an online proforma circulated employing social media and E-mail. Results: A total of 808 (506 females) subjects took part in the study. The mean age of the study subjects was 49.4 ± 12.5 years. Among the total subjects, 17% of them were found to use PPI (omeprazole, Pantoprazole, and Rabeprazole) as an over the counter medication for more than 6–8 weeks of duration. The mean duration of PPI use was found to be 103.8 days which was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the prescribed duration of 37.3 days. The majority of the prescriptions were from internal medicine specialists (309, 46.4%) followed by general practitioners (214, 35.7%). PPI was co-prescribed for diabetes in 47 (5.8%), hypertension 36 (4.5%), cardiovascular disorders 30 (3.7%), and arthritis 23 (3%) in this study. Conclusion: The present study found a relatively high tendency to overuse of PPI among the adults residing in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. The prescription rates for non-gastrointestinal (GI) causes outnumbered GI cause.

Key words: Proton pump inhibitors, over the counter, gastrointestinal, omeprazole, rabeprazole