Anti-malarial prescription practices among children admitted to six public hospitals in Uganda from 2011 to 2013

Prescription patterns and compliance with World Health Organization recommendations for the management of uncomplicated and severe malaria: A prospective, real-world study in sub-Saharan Africa

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the gap between guidelines and local clinical practice for diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated and severe malaria, the patient characteristics, diagnostic approach, treatment, and compliance to standard guideline recommendations.

METHODS

This was a multicentre, observational study conducted between October 2020 and March 2021 in which patients of all ages with symptoms suggestive of malaria and who visited a healthcare facility were prospectively enrolled in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa (The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, The United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia).

RESULTS

Of 1001 enrolled patients, 735 (73.4%) patients had confirmed malaria (based on overall judgment by investigator) at baseline (uncomplicated malaria: 598 [81.4%] and severe malaria: 137 [18.6%]). Of the confirmed malaria patients, 533 (72.5%) were administered a malaria rapid diagnostic test. The median age of patients was 11 years (range: 2 weeks-91 years) with more patients coming from rural (44.9%) than urban (30.6%) or suburban areas (24.5%). At the community level, 57.8% of patients sought advice or received treatment for malaria and 56.9% of patients took one or more drugs for their illness before coming to the study site. In terms of early access to care, 44.1% of patients came to the study site for initial visit ≥ 48 h after symptom onset. In patients with uncomplicated malaria, the most prescribed treatments were artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT; n = 564 [94.3%]), primarily using artemether-lumefantrine (82.3%), in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) treatment guidelines. In addition, these patients received antipyretics (85.6%) and antibiotics (42.0%). However, in those with severe malaria, only 66 (48.2%) patients received parenteral treatment followed by oral ACT as per WHO guidelines, whereas 62 (45.3%) received parenteral treatment only. After receiving ambulatory care, 88.6% of patients with uncomplicated malaria were discharged and 83.2% of patients with severe malaria were discharged after hospitalization. One patient with uncomplicated malaria having multiple co-morbidities and three patients with severe malaria died.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study suggest that the prescribed treatment in most patients with uncomplicated malaria, but not of those with severe malaria, was in alignment with the WHO recommended guidelines.

Etiology and clinical characteristics of pediatric acute fever among hospitalized children in an endemic malaria transmission area of Cameroon in Central Africa

Acute fever in the majority of children in resource-limited countries is attributable to malaria and often treated without laboratory evidence. The aim of the study was to characterize acute pediatric infectious fevers (APIF) in the pediatric department of the Douala Laquintinie Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children aged 2 months to 15 years who were admitted with an acute fever (anal temperature ≥ 37.5°C less than 5 days in infants and 7 days in adolescents). 200 children were included and followed up during their hospitalization. The mean age was 3.7 (IQ25-75: 1-4.6) years. More than 3 out of 5 patients (62.5%) came from another health facility and anemia accounted for 29% of the reasons for consultation associated with fever. The main symptoms were vomiting (28%), cough (26%), convulsions (21%) and diarrhea (20%). Skin-mucosal pallor (43.0%) and hepatosplenomegaly (26.0%) were the most common physical signs encountered. Among febrile children, 116/200 (58%) were infected with at least 1 pathogen, and 1/200 (0.5%) had a fever of unknown etiology. Malaria (53% vs 80.5% presumptive) associated with anemia (95.3% of cases) was the most common pathology associated with APIF, followed by pneumonia (19.5%), meningitis (11.5%) and urinary tract infections (10% vs 54.5% presumptive). Malaria was over-diagnosed on admission and over-treated as well as urinary tract infection. A better understanding of common pathogens carriage, a better capacity for improved diagnosis and a better applied clinical algorithm for febrile illnesses in children are needed.

Malaria diagnostic and treatment practices for febrile children under 5 years at two general hospitals in Karamoja, a high transmission setting in Uganda

BACKGROUND

Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years of age in Uganda. Although Karamoja sub-region has the highest prevalence of malaria, and one of the highest case fatality rates in children under 5 years, information on malaria case management for the sub-region is scarce. The study evaluated the malaria diagnostic and treatment practices, as well as the factors associated with inappropriate care for children under 5 years of age presenting with fever in two public hospitals within the sub-region.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 857 children under 5 years of age who presented with fever at Abim and Kaabong general hospitals between February and March 2020. A questionnaire was administered to the primary caregiver during exit/bedside interviews to collect socio-demographic information. The participant clinical notes were reviewed to capture information on laboratory tests conducted, diagnosis given, and treatment prescribed. In addition, a health facility assessment was conducted and information on healthcare workers was collected. The healthcare worker and facility data was linked to the participant's hospital visit. Main outcome measures were malaria diagnostic and treatment practices.

RESULTS

Of the 857 children enrolled, 820 (95.7%) had a malaria diagnostic test done and 623 (76.0%) tested positive for malaria. All test positive children received anti-malarial treatment, however, only 424/623 (68.1%) received the recommended anti-malarial drug and 376/424 (88.7%) received the right dose of the treatment. Inappropriate diagnosis/treatment was in 321 (37.5%) of the enrolled participants. Factors associated with inappropriate diagnosis/treatment included: lack of recommended anti-malarials on the day of the visit (Prevalence Ratio [PR] = 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8-2.4), hospital where care was sought (PR = 0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.5), being managed by a recently supervised health worker (PR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.2-0.9), and health worker cadre (PR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.7-0.9).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of inappropriate malaria diagnosis and treatment in the Karamoja sub-region was high with approximately one in every three children receiving inappropriate care. This was majorly influenced by health system factors, which if improved upon may reduce malaria-related mortalities in the sub-region a vital step in meeting the country's target of zero deaths from malaria by 2030.

Health systems readiness and quality of inpatient malaria case-management in Kano State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Nigeria was among the first African countries to adopt and implement change of treatment policy for severe malaria from quinine to artesunate. Seven years after the policy change health systems readiness and quality of inpatient malaria case-management practices were evaluated in Kano State of Nigeria.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in May 2019 at all public hospitals. Data collection comprised hospital assessments, interviews with inpatient health workers and data extraction from medical files for all suspected malaria patients admitted to the paediatric and medical wards in April 2019. Descriptive analyses included 22 hospitals, 154 health workers and 1,807 suspected malaria admissions analysed from malaria test and treat case-management perspective.

RESULTS

73% of hospitals provided malaria microscopy, 27% had rapid diagnostic tests and 23% were unable to perform any parasitological malaria diagnosis. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) was available at 96% of hospitals, artemether vials at 68% while injectable quinine and artesunate were equally stocked at 59% of hospitals. 32%, 21% and 15% of health workers had been exposed to relevant trainings, guidelines and supervision respectively. 47% of suspected malaria patients were tested while repeat testing was rare (7%). 60% of confirmed severe malaria patients were prescribed artesunate. Only 4% of admitted non-severe test positive cases were treated with ACT, while 76% of test negative patients were prescribed an anti-malarial. Artemether was the most common anti-malarial treatment for non-severe test positive (55%), test negative (43%) and patients not tested for malaria (45%). In all categories of the patients, except for confirmed severe cases, artemether was more commonly prescribed for adults compared to children. 44% of artesunate-treated patients were prescribed ACT follow-on treatment. Overall compliance with test and treat policy for malaria was 13%.

CONCLUSIONS

Translation of new treatment policy for severe malaria into inpatient practice is compromised by lack of malaria diagnostics, stock-outs of artesunate and suboptimal health workers' practices. Establishment of the effective supply chain and on-going supportive interventions for health workers accompanied with regular monitoring of the systems readiness and clinical practices are urgently needed.

The age-specific incidence of hospitalized paediatric malaria in Uganda

BACKGROUND

Understanding the relationship between malaria infection risk and disease outcomes represents a fundamental component of morbidity and mortality burden estimations. Contemporary data on severe malaria risks among populations of different parasite exposures are scarce. Using surveillance data, we compared rates of paediatric malaria hospitalisation in areas of varying parasite exposure levels.

METHODS

Surveillance data at five public hospitals; Jinja, Mubende, Kabale, Tororo, and Apac were assembled among admissions aged 1 month to 14 years between 2017 and 2018. The address of each admission was used to define a local catchment population where national census data was used to define person-year-exposure to risk. Within each catchment, historical infection prevalence was assembled from previously published data and current infection prevalence defined using 33 population-based school surveys among 3400 children. Poisson regression was used to compute the overall and site-specific incidences with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Both current and historical Plasmodium falciparum prevalence varied across the five sites. Current prevalence ranged from < 1% in Kabale to 54% in Apac. Overall, the malaria admission incidence rate (IR) was 7.3 per 1000 person years among children aged 1 month to 14 years of age (95% CI: 7.0, 7.7). The lowest rate was described at Kabale (IR = 0.3; 95 CI: 0.1, 0.6) and highest at Apac (IR = 20.3; 95 CI: 18.9, 21.8). There was a correlation between IR across the five sites and the current parasite prevalence in school children, though findings were not statistically significant. Across all sites, except Kabale, malaria admissions were concentrated among young children, 74% were under 5 years. The median age of malaria admissions at Kabale hospital was 40 months (IQR 20, 72), and at Apac hospital was 36 months (IQR 18, 69). Overall, severe anaemia (7.6%) was the most common presentation and unconsciousness (1.8%) the least common.

CONCLUSION

Malaria hospitalisation rates remain high in Uganda particularly among young children. The incidence of hospitalized malaria in different locations in Uganda appears to be influenced by past parasite exposure, immune acquisition, and current risks of infection. Interruption of transmission through vector control could influence age-specific severe malaria risk.

Recovery and stable persistence of chloroquine sensitivity in Plasmodium falciparum parasites after its discontinued use in Northern Uganda

Background

Usage of chloroquine was discontinued from the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum infection in almost all endemic regions because of global spread of resistant parasites. Since the first report in Malawi, numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated that the discontinuance led to re-emergence of chloroquine-susceptible P. falciparum, suggesting a possible role in future malaria control. However, most studies were cross-sectional, with few studies looking at the persistence of chloroquine recovery in long term. This study fills the gap by providing, for a period of at least 6 years, proof of persistent re-emergence/stable recovery of susceptible parasite populations using both molecular and phenotypic methods.

Methods

Ex vivo drug-susceptibility assays to chloroquine (n = 319) and lumefantrine (n = 335) were performed from 2013 to 2018 in Gulu, Northern Uganda, where chloroquine had been removed from the official malaria treatment regimen since 2006. Genotyping of pfcrt and pfmdr1 was also performed.

Results

Chloroquine resistance (≥ 100 nM) was observed in only 3 (1.3%) samples. Average IC₅₀ values for chloroquine were persistently low throughout the study period (17.4–24.9 nM). Parasites harbouring pfcrt K76 alleles showed significantly lower IC₅₀s to chloroquine than the parasites harbouring K76T alleles (21.4 nM vs. 43.1 nM, p-value = 3.9 × 10⁻⁸). Prevalence of K76 alleles gradually increased from 71% in 2013 to 100% in 2018.

Conclusion

This study found evidence of stable persistence of chloroquine susceptibility with the fixation of pfcrt K76 in Northern Uganda after discontinuation of chloroquine in the region. Accumulation of similar evidence in other endemic areas in Uganda could open channels for possible future re-use of chloroquine as an option for malaria treatment or prevention.

Connected diagnostics: linking digital rapid diagnostic tests and mobile health wallets to diagnose and treat brucellosis in Samburu, Kenya

BACKGROUND

Despite WHO guidelines for testing all suspected cases of malaria before initiating treatment, presumptive malaria treatment remains common practice among some clinicians and in certain low-resource settings the capacity for microscopic testing is limited. This can lead to misdiagnosis, resulting in increased morbidity due to lack of treatment for undetected conditions, increased healthcare costs, and potential for drug resistance. This is particularly an issue as multiple conditions share the similar etiologies to malaria, including brucellosis, a rare, under-detected zoonosis. Linking rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and digital test readers for the detection of febrile illnesses can mitigate this risk and improve case management of febrile illness.

METHODS

This technical advance study examines Connected Diagnostics, an approach that combines the use of point-of-care RDTs for malaria and brucellosis, digitally interpreted by a rapid diagnostic test reader (Deki Reader) and connected to mobile payment mechanisms to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of febrile illness in nomadic populations in Samburu County, Kenya. Consenting febrile patients were tested with RDTs and patient diagnosis and risk information were uploaded to a cloud database via the Deki Reader. Patients with positive diagnoses were provided digital vouchers for transportation to the clinic and treatment via their health wallet on their mobile phones.

RESULTS

In total, 288 patients were tested during outreach visits, with 9% testing positive for brucellosis and 0.6% testing positive for malaria. All patients, regardless of diagnosis were provided with a mobile health wallet on their cellular phones to facilitate their transport to the clinic, and for patients testing positive for brucellosis or malaria, the wallet funded their treatment. The use of the Deki Reader in addition to quality diagnostics at point of care also facilitated geographic mapping of patient diagnoses in relation to key risk areas for brucellosis transmission.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that the Connected Dx approach can be effective even when addressing a remote, nomadic population and a rare disease, indicating that this approach to diagnosing, treatment, and payment for healthcare costs is feasible and can be scaled to address more prevalent diseases and conditions in more populous contexts.

Prescribing patterns and compliance with World Health Organization recommendations for the management of severe malaria: a modified cohort event monitoring study in public health facilities in Ghana and Uganda

BACKGROUND

Injectable artesunate (AS) is the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended medication for the treatment of severe malaria followed with an oral artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). There are few studies indicating how physicians prescribe injectable AS, injectable quinine (Q) or injectable artemether (AR) and ACT for severe malaria. This study was undertaken to evaluate prescription compliance to the WHO recommendation in 8 public health facilities in Ghana and Uganda. This was a modified cohort event monitoring study involving patients who were administered with injectable anti-malarial for treatment of presumed or confirmed severe malaria. Patients prescribed at least one dose of injectable artesunate, artemether or quinine qualified to enrol in the study. Patients were recruited at inpatient facilities and followed up in the hospital, by phone or at home. Following WHO recommendations, patients are to be prescribed 3 doses of injectable AS, Q or AR for at least 24 h followed with oral ACT. Compliance rate was estimated as the number of patient prescriptions that met the WHO recommendation for treatment of severe malaria divided by the total number of patients who completed the study by end of follow up. Log-binomial regression model was used to identify predictors for compliance. Based on the literature and limitations of available data from the patients' record, the diagnosis results, age, gender, weight, and country were considered as potential predictors of prescriber adherence to the WHO recommendations.

RESULTS

A total of 1191 patients completed the study, of which 93% were prescribed injectable AS, 3.1% (injectable AR or Q) with 32.5% prescribed follow-on oral ACT and 26% on concomitant antibiotics. 391 (32.8%) were in Ghana and 800 (67.2%) in Uganda. There were 582 (48.9%) women. The median age was 3.9 years (IQR = 2, 9) and median weight was 13 kg (IQR = 10, 20). Of the 1191 patients, 329 of the prescriptions complied with the WHO recommendation (compliance rate = 27.6%; 95% CI = [25.2, 30.2]). Diagnostic results (Adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 4.56; 95% = [3.42, 6.08]; p < 0.0001) and weight (20 + kg vs < 10 kg: aPR = 0.65; 95% = [0.44, 0.96]; p = 0.015) were identified as factors independently associated with compliance.

CONCLUSION

Injectable AS is the most commonly prescribed medicine in the management of severe malaria in Ghana and Uganda. However, adherence to the WHO recommendation of at least 3 doses of injectable anti-malarial in 24 h followed by a full course of ACT is low, at less than 30%.

Risk Factors for Mortality in Children Admitted for Suspected Malaria to a Pediatric Emergency Ward in a Low-Resource Setting: A Case-Control Study

OBJECTIVES

To identify the risk factors for mortality after admission for suspected malaria in a pediatric emergency ward in Sierra Leone.

DESIGN

Retrospective case-control.

SETTING

Pujehun Hospital Pediatric Ward in Pujehun, Sierra Leone.

PATIENTS

All cases were pediatric deaths after admission for suspected malaria at the Pujehun Hospital Pediatric Ward between January 1, 2015, and May 31, 2016. The case-control ratio was 1:1. The controls were infants admitted at Pujehun Hospital Pediatric Ward for malaria and discharged alive during the same period. Controls were selected as the next noncase infant admitted for malaria and discharged alive, as recorded in local medical records.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Children characteristics, vital variables on hospital access, comorbidity status at admission, antibiotic and antimalarial therapy at admission; presence of hematemesis, respiratory arrest or bradypnea, abrupt worsening, and emergency interventions during hospital stay; final diagnosis before discharge or death. In total, 320 subjects (160 cases and 160 controls) were included in the study. Multivariable analysis identified being referred from peripheral health units (odds ratio, 4.00; 95% CI, 1.98-8.43), cerebral malaria (odds ratio, 6.28; 95% CI, 2.19-21.47), malnutrition (odds ratio, 3.14; 95% CI, 1.45-7.15), dehydration (odds ratio, 3.94; 95% CI, 1.50-11.35), being unresponsive or responsive to pain (odds ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.15-4.13), and hepatosplenomegaly (odds ratio, 3.20; 95% CI, 1.74-6.03) as independent risk factors for mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Risk factors for mortality in children with suspected malaria include cerebral malaria and severe clinical conditions at admission. Being referred from peripheral health units, as proxy of logistics issue, was also associated with increased risk of mortality. These findings suggest that appropriate interventions should focus on training and resources, including the increase of dedicated personnel and available equipment.

Monitoring health systems readiness and inpatient malaria case-management at Kenyan county hospitals

BACKGROUND

Change of severe malaria treatment policy from quinine to artesunate, a major malaria control advance in Africa, is compromised by scarce data to monitor policy translation into practice. In Kenya, hospital surveys were implemented to monitor health systems readiness and inpatient malaria case-management.

METHODS

All 47 county referral hospitals were surveyed in February and October 2016. Data collection included hospital assessments, interviews with inpatient health workers and retrospective review of patients' admission files. Analysis included 185 and 182 health workers, and 1162 and 1224 patients admitted with suspected malaria, respectively, in all 47 hospitals. Cluster-adjusted comparisons of the performance indicators with exploratory stratifications were performed.

RESULTS

Malaria microscopy was universal during both surveys. Artesunate availability increased (63.8-85.1%), while retrospective stock-outs declined (46.8-19.2%). No significant changes were observed in the coverage of artesunate trained (42.2% vs 40.7%) and supervised health workers (8.7% vs 12.8%). The knowledge about treatment policy improved (73.5-85.7%; p = 0.002) while correct artesunate dosing knowledge increased for patients < 20 kg (42.7-64.6%; p < 0.001) and > 20 kg (70.3-80.8%; p = 0.052). Most patients were tested on admission (88.6% vs 92.1%; p = 0.080) while repeated malaria testing was low (5.2% vs 8.1%; p = 0.034). Artesunate treatment for confirmed severe malaria patients significantly increased (69.9-78.7%; p = 0.030). No changes were observed in artemether-lumefantrine treatment for non-severe test positive patients (8.0% vs 8.8%; p = 0.796). Among test negative patients, increased adherence to test results was observed for non-severe (68.6-78.0%; p = 0.063) but not for severe patients (59.1-62.1%; p = 0.673). Overall quality of malaria case-management improved (48.6-56.3%; p = 0.004), both for children (54.1-61.5%; p = 0.019) and adults (43.0-51.0%; p = 0.041), and in both high (51.1-58.1%; p = 0.024) and low malaria risk areas (47.5-56.0%; p = 0.029).

CONCLUSION

Most health systems and malaria case-management indicators improved during 2016. Gaps, often specific to different inpatient populations and risk areas, however remain and further programmatic interventions including close monitoring is needed to optimize policy translation.

Resurgence of Malaria Following Discontinuation of Indoor Residual Spraying of Insecticide in an Area of Uganda With Previously High-Transmission Intensity

BACKGROUND

Indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are the primary tools for malaria prevention in Africa. It is not known whether reductions in malaria can be sustained after IRS is discontinued. Our aim in this study was to assess changes in malaria morbidity in an area of Uganda with historically high transmission where IRS was discontinued after a 4-year period followed by universal LLIN distribution.

METHODS

Individual-level malaria surveillance data were collected from 1 outpatient department and 1 inpatient setting in Apac District, Uganda, from July 2009 through November 2015. Rounds of IRS were delivered approximately every 6 months from February 2010 through May 2014 followed by universal LLIN distribution in June 2014. Temporal changes in the malaria test positivity rate (TPR) were estimated during and after IRS using interrupted time series analyses, controlling for age, rainfall, and autocorrelation.

RESULTS

Data include 65 421 outpatient visits and 13 955 pediatric inpatient admissions for which a diagnostic test for malaria was performed. In outpatients aged <5 years, baseline TPR was 60%-80% followed by a rapid and then sustained decrease to 15%-30%. During the 4-18 months following discontinuation of IRS, absolute TPR values increased by an average of 3.29% per month (95% confidence interval, 2.01%-4.57%), returning to baseline levels. Similar trends were seen in outpatients aged ≥5 years and pediatric admissions.

CONCLUSIONS

Discontinuation of IRS in an area with historically high transmission intensity was associated with a rapid increase in malaria morbidity to pre-IRS levels.

Comparison of the capacity between public and private health facilities to manage under-five children with febrile illnesses in Uganda

Background

Public health facilities are usually the first to receive interventions compared to private facilities, yet majority of health seeking care is first done with the latter. This study compared the capacity to manage acute febrile illnesses in children below 5 years in private vs public health facilities in order to design interventions to improve quality of care.

Methods

A survey was conducted within 57 geographical areas (parishes), from August to October 2014 in Mukono district, central Uganda. The survey comprised both facility and health worker assessment. Data were collected on drug stocks, availability of treatment guidelines, diagnostic equipment, and knowledge in management of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea, using a structured questionnaire.

Results

A total of 53 public and 241 private health facilities participated in the study. While similar proportions of private and public health facilities stocked Coartem, the first-line anti-malarial drug, (98 vs 95%, p = 0.22), significantly more private than public health facilities stocked quinine (85 vs 53%, p < 0.01). Stocks of obsolete anti-malarial drugs, such as chloroquine, were reported in few public and private facilities (3.7 vs 12.5%, p = 0.06). Stocks of antibiotics-amoxycillin and gentamycin were similar in both sectors (≥90% for amoxicillin; ≥50 for gentamycin). Training in malaria was reported by 65% of public health facilities vs 56% in the private sector, p = 0.25), while, only 21% in the public facility and 12% in the private facilities, p = 0.11, reported receiving training in pneumonia. Only 55% of public facilities had microscopes. Malaria treatment guidelines were significantly lacking in the private sector, p = 0.01. Knowledge about first-line management of uncomplicated malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea was significantly better in the public facilities compared to the private ones, though still sub-optimal.

Conclusion

Deficiencies of equipment, supplies and training exist even in public health facilities. In order to significantly improve the capacity to handle acute febrile illness among children under five, training in proper case management, availability of supplies and diagnostics need to be addressed in both sectors.

Referral of children seeking care at private health facilities in Uganda

Background

In Uganda, referral of sick children seeking care at public health facilities is poor and widely reported. However, studies focusing on the private health sector are scanty. The main objective of this study was to assess referral practices for sick children seeking care at private health facilities in order to explore ways of improving treatment and referral of sick children in this sector.

Methods

A survey was conducted from August to October 2014 in Mukono district, central Uganda. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire supplemented by Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant interviews with private providers and community members.

Results

A total of 241 private health facilities were surveyed; 170 (70.5%) were registered drug shops, 59 (24.5%) private clinics and 12 (5.0%) pharmacies. Overall, 104/241 (43.2%) of the private health facilities reported that they had referred sick children to higher levels of care in the two weeks prior to the survey. The main constraints to follow referral advice as perceived by caretakers were: not appreciating the importance of referral, gender-related decision-making and negotiations at household level, poor quality of care at referral facilities, inadequate finances at household level; while the perception that referral leads to loss of prestige and profit was a major constraint to private providers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the results show that referral of sick children at private health facilities faces many challenges at provider, caretaker, household and community levels. Thus, interventions to address constraints to referral of sick children are urgently needed.

Malaria investigation and treatment of children admitted to county hospitals in western Kenya

BACKGROUND

Up to 90 % of the global burden of malaria morbidity and mortality occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and children under-five bear a disproportionately high malaria burden. Effective inpatient case management can reduce severe malaria mortality and morbidity, but there are few reports of how successfully international and national recommendations are adopted in management of inpatient childhood malaria.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study of inpatient malaria case management practices was conducted using data collected over 24 months in five hospitals from high malaria risk areas participating in the Clinical Information Network (CIN) in Kenya. This study describes documented clinical features, laboratory investigations and treatment of malaria in children (2-59 months) and adherence to national guidelines.

RESULTS

A total of 13,014 children had a malaria diagnosis on admission to the five hospitals between March, 2014 and February, 2016. Their median age was 24 months (IQR 12-36 months). The proportion with a diagnostic test for malaria requested was 11,981 (92.1 %). Of 10,388 patients with malaria test results documented, 8050 (77.5 %) were positive and anti-malarials were prescribed in 6745 (83.8 %). Malaria treatment was prescribed in 1613/2338 (69.0 %) children with a negative malaria result out of which only 52 (3.2 %) had a repeat malaria test done as recommended in national guidelines. Documentation of clinical features was good across all hospitals, but quinine remained the most prescribed malaria drug (47.2 % of positive cases) although a transition to artesunate (46.1 %) was observed. Although documented clinical features suggested approximately half of positive malaria patients were not severe cases artemether-lumefantrine was prescribed on admission in only 3.7 % cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite improvements in inpatient malaria care, high rates of presumptive treatment for test negative children and likely over-use of injectable anti-malarial drugs were observed. Three years after national policy change, there is a gradual transition to artesunate. Continued efforts to support improved routine inpatient malaria care through dissemination and implementation of guidelines, and access to recommended drugs are needed together with improved capacity of hospitals to investigate other causes of severe illness in children. Efforts to improve clinical information could help track progress.