A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Cardiology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka in collaboration with Department of Cardiology, CMH, Dhaka Cantonment from June 1999 to May 2000. The patients clinically diagnosed or documented to have coronary artery disease (CAD) requiring coronary angiography (CAG) were included in the study, and were grouped into patients with Cardiovascular Dysmetabalic Syndrome (CDS Group) and without CDS (non-CDS group). The CDS was diagnosed by using the diagnostic criteria defined by Western Working Group, Hawaii, in 1997, Patients with hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies, valvular and congenital heart diseases, and other systemic diseases were excluded frarn the study. OtherCAD risk factors, i,e. Smoking, family history of CAD and physical inactivity were also analyzed. The CAG findings were analyzed in terms of severity and pattern of coronary lesions and were compared between the groups.
The study was cross sectional study. The patients were randomly selected by taking the 6th patient in the treatment / dispensing queue, to participate in the study. 25 patients per day were randomly selected out of the 98 patients who were receiving chemotherapy. The study population was of 385 patients . Results: The cost of medicines supplied by government, donations and out of pocket cost were Shs. 103,000,000 (€ 26,410), Shs.153,000,000 (€ 39,230) and Shs.30,700,000 (€ 7,871) respectively. The proportions of the frequency of out-of-pocket costs were found to be 109 (28.3%), donations was found to cover 24 (6.2%) and government was found to be 357 (92.7%) of the medicines used at the Uganda Cancer Institute. ConClusions: The cost of donated medicines is high. It serves a small number of patients who seek care. While Uganda Cancer Institute dispenses cancer medicines to all patients free of charge, low availability leads to patients to purchase medicine in private Pharmacies. Some medicines cost a lot of money, leading to high patients' expenditure and some patients do not buy at all. Progress will require a multi-faceted approach, as well as review of policies and regulations in place that focus on the availability and accessibility of cancer medicines in Uganda.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.