Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of malaria in children in a secondary healthcare centre in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana.

Autor:	Orish VN; Physician/Lecturer, Department of Internal Medicine, Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital Sekondi-Takoradi, Sekondi, Western Region, Ghana orishv@yahoo.com., Ansong JY; Physician, Department of Paediatrics, Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital Sekondi-Takoradi, Sekondi, Western Region, Ghana., Onyeabor OS; Physician, Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, The Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Sanyaolu AO; Associate Professor of Microbiology, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, Saint James School of Medicine, Anguilla, British West Indies Associate Professor of Microbiology, ANDI Centre of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, WHO/TDR/FIND Malaria Specimen Bank Site, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Idi-araba, Lagos, Nigeria., Oyibo WA; Professor of Parasitology, ANDI Centre of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, WHO/TDR/FIND Malaria Specimen Bank Site, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Idi-araba, Lagos, Nigeria., Iriemenam NC; Principal Investigator, ANDI Centre of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, WHO/TDR/FIND Malaria Specimen Bank Site, Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Idi-araba, Lagos, Nigeria.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Tropical doctor [Trop Doct] 2016 Oct; Vol. 46 (4), pp. 191-198. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Jan 05.
DOI:	10.1177/0049475515622861
Abstrakt:	Overdiagnosis and overtreatment of malaria is a major problem in children in malaria-endemic countries. This retrospective study identified children who were admitted with fever and were treated with or without anti-malarial medications and discharged at the Paediatric Unit of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital. The medical records of all children were searched, retrieved and assessed. A total of 1160 records from children (age range, 0-12 years) were reviewed and evaluated. Of the total number, 21.3% had laboratory confirmed malaria, 38.4% were malaria negative, while 40.3% had no malaria tests performed. In addition, the results showed that 4.5% of the laboratory confirmed malaria positive cases were not given anti-malarial medication while 84.1% of the malaria negative cases were given these incorrectly. Furthermore, 78.2% of the children with no malaria tests were prescribed anti-malarial medication. The presumptive diagnosis of malaria should be abandoned and the installation of a functional laboratory services promoted. (© The Author(s) 2016.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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