Abstract

PRESCRIBING ANTIBIOTICS AND OTHER MEDICATIONS FOR CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS IN THE OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENTS (OPD) OF FOUR SECONDARY HOSPITALS IN FREETOWN SIERRA LEONE

Dr. Brian Thompson*, Habib Kolleh Conteh and Prof. (Mrs) Stella Folajole Usifoh

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Abstract

Introduction: The study of prescribing patterns seeks to monitor, evaluate and suggest modifications in practitioners‟ prescribing habits so as to make medical care rational and cost-effective. Information about antimicrobial use patterns is necessary for a constructive approach to problems that may arise from the multiple antibiotics available. The aim of the research was to determine the proportion of patients that are prescribed antibiotics in the outpatient department of four secondary hospitals. The specific objectives were to collect baseline information on the prescribing pattern of antibiotics, analyze the type of antibiotic prescribed and estimate the number of prescriptions per child and offer recommendations based on findings. Method: This study used a cross-sectional one-day point prevalence survey (PPS) and was conducted as per the World Health Organization (WHO) prescribing indicators in which one hundred and fifty-six prescriptions were reviewed in total from the four hospitals. Results: The average drug per prescription was 3.3 (SD=0.9). The most prescribed pharmacological class according to this study were antibiotics (28.5%) followed by analgesics (26.2%), and antimalarial (24.5%). Paracetamol was the most commonly prescribed drug. The study shows that the most prescribed antibiotic was Amoxicillin. The total number of antibiotics prescribed was one hundred and forty-seven for a total of one hundred and fifty-six patients, giving an average of 0.942 antibiotics per patient. Overall, generic prescription and prescribing from the essential medicines list were 64.5% and 76.7% respectively. Conclusion: In accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) indicators used in this study, drugs were irrationally prescribed within secondary hospitals. The study recommends that the Drugs and Therapeutic Committees of the hospital should select the most appropriate antibiotics in terms of cost- effectiveness, develop standard prescription guidelines and enforce the usage of the guidelines to salvage unnecessary usage of antibiotics and other drugs at secondary hospitals.

Keywords: Prescribing indicators, under-five, outpatients' clinic, rational prescribing, Prescribing pattern, rational drug use, drug utilization, free healthcare, Sierra Leone.