Drug use before hospital admission in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Drug use before hospital admission was studied prospectively in 284 consecutive patients admitted to general medical wards in Zimbabwe. Drugs were used by 84% of patients. Self-medication was used by 143 (50%) patients, aspirin (54%) and chloroquine (17%) being the most commonly used drugs. Traditional medicines were used by 55 (19%) patients. Drugs dispensed from orthodox medical sources were taken by 128 (45%) patients. Analgesics (22%), antibiotics (18%), and chloroquine (13%) were the commonest drugs dispensed. Urine screening tests were performed and were positive for aspirin in 37% of cases, chloroquine (33%), and antibiotics (20%). Adverse drug reactions requiring hospital admission occurred in 14 patients (10 orthodox medicines, 4 traditional medicines). Drug use before hospital admission, which is often poorly documented, is a source of potential drug toxicity and may obscure a diagnosis of infective illness.

Perception about Self-medication Practices for Oral Health Problems among Patients attending Dental Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

“…Sources of medication data could be from business representative in the chemist shop, print media, family and friends, pharmacists, general medicinal dealers, and general and private medicinal practitioners. [10][11][12][13] Among the youthful ones, sources of medication knowledge include relatives, particularly, the mother (for therapeutic purposes), peer groups, and the illegal market (for addiction purpose). 14 Individual of all sociodemographic classes practice self-medication.…”

Factors influencing the pattern of self-medication in an adult Nigerian population

“…Trade names were common means of identification and less frequently by generic name, action, color, shape and common usage names. 18 Sources of drug information could be from the sales clerk in the chemist shop, 19 print media, family and friends, 20 pharmacists, general medicine dealers, general and private medical practitioners 21 and among individuals who interact frequently with the public like hairdressers, salespeople and bank officials. Among the young ones, sources of drug knowledge include family members especially the mother (for therapeutic purposes), peer groups and the illegal market (for addiction purposes).…”

Concentrations of Chloroquine and Malaria Parasites in Blood in Nigerian Children

“…Field methods for the detection of CQ in urine such as the Dill-Glazko test (13) suffer from poor sensitivity and specificity (21) and cannot quantify drug concentrations. Nevertheless, tests for detection of CQ in urine were found to be positive at hospital admission for 32% of patients in Malawi (17) and in 33% of patients in Zimbabwe (23). By applying high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), CQ was detected in the blood of up to 80% of schoolchildren in Tanzania, with the drug levels in the majority of children being too low to eliminate even CQ-sensitive parasites (9).…”