OBJECTIVES: The switching of intravenous (IV) medication administration to the oral route is a common practice in healthcare settings. It offers numerous benefits including lower risks for nosocomial infections and thrombophlebitis, lower costs, early discharge and enhanced patient convenience. This study aimed to assess the IV to oral switching and determine the percentages of patients who were eligible and ineligible for switching, and the percentages of actual switching among both groups

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a sample of cases from a tertiary governmental healthcare facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2018 - 2020. Data were collected from patient medical records. The primary outcomes included the numbers and percentages of successful and unsuccessful switching

RESULTS: The study included a total of 1225 patients, of whom 355 met the switching criteria and 870 did not meet the criteria. Among the eligible patients, 231 (65.07%) were successfully switched from IV to oral route, while 124 (34.93%) were not switched. Out of the cases that did not meet the criteria for conversion (870), only 2 cases (0.2%) were swithced, while 868 cases (99.8%) were not switched. Overall, 233 patients (19.02% of all patients) were switched

CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that a majority of patients who met the switching criteria were switched from IV to oral route, demonstrating a good switching rate among eligible patients. However, there were few cases where ineligible patients were switched, highlighting the need for adherence to appropriate patient selection criteria. The study emphasized the importance of developing strategies to improve medication administration practices and implementing IV to oral switching protocols to optimize patient care and achieve potential cost savings. These findings provide valuable insights for healthcare providers and policymakers, emphasizing the significant role of clinical pharmacists’ recommendations in optimizing medication switching, and improving patient care