Prescription patterns and compliance with World Health Organization recommendations for the management of uncomplicated and severe malaria: A prospective, real-world study in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Background This study aimed to evaluate the gap between guidelines and local clinical practice for diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated and severe malaria, the patient characteristics, diagnostic approach, treatment, and compliance to standard guideline recommendations. Methods This was a multicentre, observational study conducted between October 2020 and March 2021 in which patients of all ages with symptoms suggestive of malaria and who visited a healthcare facility were prospectively enrolled in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa (The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, The United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia). Results Of 1001 enrolled patients, 735 (73.4%) patients had confirmed malaria (based on overall judgment by investigator) at baseline (uncomplicated malaria: 598 [81.4%] and severe malaria: 137 [18.6%]). Of the confirmed malaria patients, 533 (72.5%) were administered a malaria rapid diagnostic test. The median age of patients was 11 years (range: 2 weeks–91 years) with more patients coming from rural (44.9%) than urban (30.6%) or suburban areas (24.5%). At the community level, 57.8% of patients sought advice or received treatment for malaria and 56.9% of patients took one or more drugs for their illness before coming to the study site. In terms of early access to care, 44.1% of patients came to the study site for initial visit ≥ 48 h after symptom onset. In patients with uncomplicated malaria, the most prescribed treatments were artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT; n = 564 [94.3%]), primarily using artemether-lumefantrine (82.3%), in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) treatment guidelines. In addition, these patients received antipyretics (85.6%) and antibiotics (42.0%). However, in those with severe malaria, only 66 (48.2%) patients received parenteral treatment followed by oral ACT as per WHO guidelines, whereas 62 (45.3%) received parenteral treatment only. After receiving ambulatory care, 88.6% of patients with uncomplicated malaria were discharged and 83.2% of patients with severe malaria were discharged after hospitalization. One patient with uncomplicated malaria having multiple co-morbidities and three patients with severe malaria died. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that the prescribed treatment in most patients with uncomplicated malaria, but not of those with severe malaria, was in alignment with the WHO recommended guidelines.

Defining the next generation of severe malaria treatment: a target product profile

“…The number of children who complete referral following pre-referral rectal artesunate is suboptimal, compounded by operational, economic and logistical barriers, and undermines the effectiveness of this intervention [26][27][28]. Also, following parenteral artesunate, although a full ACT course is crucial to prevent recrudescence, it is often either not prescribed or adherence is incomplete [26][27][28][29][30]. Not only does this risk poor outcomes, but it constitutes artemisinin monotherapy which may promote the selection of drug resistance [26].…”

Health workers’ adherence to malaria case management protocols in Northern Sudan: a qualitative study

“…The levels, trends and factors of healthcare providers’ adherence to national malaria guidelines have been studied across Africa [ 13 – 16 ]. Despite some improvements, adherence was found to be insufficient in many settings [ 17 – 20 ] with series of studies evaluating outpatient malaria case management and observing deviations from testing indications [ 21 , 22 ]. Additionally, a tendency to prescribe non-recommended anti-malarials even for confirmed cases [ 23 , 24 ] and provide irrational anti-malarial treatments to patients who test negative for malaria has commonly been reported [ 25 , 26 ].…”