The Cross-Sectional Evaluation of the Use of Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapy for Treatment of Malaria Infection at a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

In 2005, Nigeria changed its antimalarial drug policy to Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs) for the treatment of malaria infection, and it is imperative for prescribers to strictly comply with this guideline to harmonize malaria management practices within the country. This study aims to evaluate prescribers' adherence with the National Antimalarial Treatment Guideline (NATG) in the treatment of malaria infections and to describe the determinants of antimalarial drugs coprescription with antibiotics at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A cross-sectional, retrospective study of antimalarial drug prescriptions of one-year period of 2013 was conducted. A simple method for assessing the quality of drug prescribing (DU90%) was adopted. Logistic regression was used to predict antimalarial drugs coprescription with antibiotics. Overall, 95.8% of the total prescriptions contained ACTs, out of which 80.8% were Artemether/Lumefantrine. However, adherence to NATG was 88.2% with an adjusted value of 100.0%. Age was the only predictor for antimalarial drugs coprescription with antibiotics. This study showed high concordance with NATG at the studied hospital. Age less than 5 years is a significant risk factor for antimalarial drugs coprescription with antibiotics.

Pattern of anti-malarial drugs and artemether combination therapy adherence in an institution based medical centre, Nigeria

“…Based on the total number of 1250 prescriptions containing at least one antimalarial drug, a sampling interval of 5 was calculated and simple balloting was used for the first pick. At the end, a total number of two hundred and fifty (250) prescriptions containing at least one antimalarial drug were selected for the study [21]. All prescriptions that have at least one antimalarial drug in it were selected, while all antimalarial prescriptions for pregnant women were excluded.…”

Genetic markers associated with antimalarial drug resistance and haemoglobin genotypes among malaria patients in Kaduna State, Nigeria

“…The emergence of drug resistance, particularly among P. falciparum strains, has been a major contributor to the global burden of malaria in the past three decades [9]. Resistance is the most likely explanation for the doubling of malaria-attributable child mortality in eastern and southern Africa [7,10,11].…”

“…Artemisinin-based combination therapy is the rst-line therapy in Nigeria and most malaria endemic countries [11,12). In 2005, Nigeria changed its antimalarial drug policy to artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) [11]. However, recent gains in reducing the burden of malaria are threatened by the emergence of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinins.…”

Genetic Markers Associated with Antimalarial Drug Resistance and Haemoglobin Genotypes Among Malaria Patients in Kaduna State, Nigeria

“…The emergence of drug resistance, particularly among P. falciparum strains, has been a major contributor to the global burden of malaria in the past three decades [9]. Resistance is the most likely explanation for the doubling of malaria-attributable child mortality in eastern and southern Africa [10,7,11].…”

“…Artemisinin-based combination therapy is the rst-line therapy in Nigeria and most malaria endemic countries [12,11). In 2005, Nigeria changed its antimalarial drug policy to artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) [11]. However, recent gains in reducing the burden of malaria are threatened by the emergence of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinins.…”