No abstract

Medication non-adherence to antiepileptic medications is detrimental to the perceived outcome of treatment. Non-adherence to medication regimen accounts for substantial worsening of disease, death and increased health care costs. In this study, we aimed to determine adherence rate to antiepileptic medications and identify the potential risk factors associated with non-adherence in Jimma University Specialized Hospital/JUSH. A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 patients using patients self report and pharmacy refill record. The self report involved the structured patient interview after verbal informed consent was obtained. Data were analyzed using SPSS for windows version 16.0. Chi-square test was used to observe the association of variables with adherence. The adherence rate of patients (n=265) to antiepileptic drugs/AED was found to be 63.2% based on their refill records, compliant fill rate. On the basis of patient's self report for their pattern of drug use, 155 (58.5%) patients reported that they had never missed (neither daily dose nor time of taking), 78 (29.4%) missed daily dose some times, 12 (4.5%) missed only time of taking, and 7.5% (n=20) missed both time of taking and daily dose sometimes. The most common reasons for missing dose were forgetfulness (31.8%) followed by being busy (20.9%). Sedation (39.4%) was the commonest side effect faced by the patient. The rate of adherence absorbed in this study was low. Pill burden, co-morbid conditions and appointment missing were found to affect adherence. The high rate of non-adherence, in this study calls for further research and due consideration in planning appropriate strategies to improve the existing conditions. ÖzetAntiepileptik tedavilere uyulmaması tedaviden beklenen sonuca zarar verir. Tedavi rejimine uyulmaması hastalığın daha da kötüleşmesine, ölüme ve sağlık sigorta harcamalarına mal olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada antiepileptik tedavilere uyum oranını ve Jimma Üniversitesi Özelleşmiş Hastanesi/JUSH'ta tedaviye uyulmamasına bağlı potansiyel risk faktörlerini belirlemeyi amaçladık. Hastane temelli kesitsel bir çalışma 265 hastanın hasta bilgileri ve eczane ilaç kayıtları kullanılarak gerçekleştirildi. Hasta bilgileri kademeli hasta ile mülakat bilgilerini ve bilgilendirildikten sonra alınan sözlü onayı içermektedir. Veriler SPSS for Windows v.16 kullanılarak analiz edildi. Ki-kare testi uyuma bağlı değişkenlerin gözlenmesinde kullanıldı. Eczane ilaç kayıtlarına bağlı olarak ve kullanım oranları ile uyumlu olarak hastaların (n=265) antiepileptik ilaçlara tedavi uyum oranları %63.2 olarak tespit edildi. Hastaların ilaç kullanım şekli ile ilgili kendi ifadelerine göre 155 hasta (%58.5) asla doz aksatmadığını (ne günlük dozu ne de doz zamanını), 78 hasta (%29.4) günlük dozu bazen aksattığını, 12 hasta (%4.5) sadece doz alım zamanını aksattığını ve 20 hasta (%7.5) hem doz zamanını ve günlük dozu bazen aksattığını belirtmişlerdir. En sık görülen doz aksatma nedenleri unutkanlık (%31.8) ve onu takip eden işinin çok olması (%20.9) idi. Ha...

Drugs have to be safe, effective and be used nationally and may require a special concern due to their unwanted side effects. Safely and effective use of drugs depend on prescribing pattern. The aim of the study was to assess the drug prescribing practice in pediatrics ward of St. Paul Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A retrospective study had been conducted from January 20 to February 15, 2009. Structured data collection formats were used to obtain data from patient records using stratified and random sampling techniques. Data were analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 16.0. Sums of 384 patient cards were included to the study in which 468 drugs were prescribed. Cotrimoxazole (18.87%), amoxicillin (14.50%), and paracetamol (10.4%) were the most commonly prescribed medications. Average number of drugs per encounter was 1.22. About 71.35%, 59.4%, 45.73% and 15.17% of drugs were prescribed with correct indication, frequency, dosage and duration respectively. There has been an inappropriate use of drugs in the hospital. Many drugs were prescribed without information regarding dosage, frequency and duration of treatment. Pharmacy professionals and physicians should check the completeness of patient cards and prescriptions to promote rational use of medications.

Purpose The purpose of this article was to assess the pattern of supplement use and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 339 pregnant women were included in the study, 63 (18.3%) and 23 (6.8%) of whom used at least 1 supplement during pregnancy and 2 to 4 weeks prior to pregnancy, respectively. Only 3 women were prescribed folic acid during pregnancy. The pregnant women were interviewed to collect supplements use and pregnancy-related information through a pretested semistructured questionnaire. Subsequent charts of prescribed supplements were reviewed using a pretested data collection format. Results The majority (76.4%) of the women claimed no awareness about the benefits of early supplementation. Supplement use was about 8 times higher among women with > 3 children (adjusted odds ratio, 7.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.69-36.28; P = .008) than among nulliparous women, and about 6 times higher among women in their second trimester (adjusted odds ratio, 6.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.91-20.55; P = .03) of pregnancy compared to those women in their first trimester. Conclusion Overall supplement use, particularly folic acid intake, was found to be negligible during the prenatal as well as antenatal periods. The majority of the women in the study lacked awareness about the benefits of supplementation and potential risks associated with the absence of folic acid during pregnancy. Information by the media and health care personnel given to childbearing women about the need to take folic acid to prevent neural tube defects seems to improve the intake of folic acid during the protective period.

A high death ratio was observed in the present study. Proper adherence to standard treatment guidelines and better care for risk groups are recommended.