A TEN YEAR STUDY OF THE TREATMENT OF MALARIA IN PREGNANCY AT A SECONDARY HOSPITAL IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA
M.K. Omole, and O.D. Onwusah
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Abstract:
Malaria in pregnancy has remained a major public health problem in Nigeria. The treatment of malaria in pregnancy at the Lady of Apostles Catholic Hospital, Oluyoro, Oke-Ofa, Ibadan in South West Nigeria between 1999 and 2008 was studied retrospectively. The objective of the study was to assess the rational use of anti-malarial drugs in the treatment of malaria in pregnancy. A total of 580 case notes of patients were collected from the medical records department. The most prevalent age group of between 15 and 20 years accounted for two hundred and two (202) (34.8%), while the least prevalent age group of between 41 and 45 years was 10 (1.7%). Majority of the patients 299 (39.5%) had secondary education, and those with tertiary education being 200 (34.5%). The gestational fetal age at which malaria infection was most prevalent was between 4 and 6 months, while the least prevalent gestational fetal age was between 7 and 9 months. There was a rapid but consistent decline in the use of Chloroquine forty eight (48) (23%) from 1999, to 3 (5%) in 2008. Sulfadoxine- Pyrimethamine 6 (3.8%) was observed to have a steady rise in use during the years 1999 to 30 (18.8%) in 2008. In 1999 and 2000 there was no ACT used. In 2001, 2 (0.9%) ACTs were used and increased significantly (p>0.01) to fifty three (53) (24.8%) in 2008. The community was of average literacy and most of the women could therefore be trained on proper antenatal care through seminars and counseling thereby reducing the incidence of malaria in pregnancy.
Keywords: Malarial infection, Pregnancy, Anti-malarial treatment, Secondary hospital and South west Nigeria.
