Evaluating drug use patterns among paediatric outpatients in Burundi.

Background: Rational prescribing is key to optimising therapeutic outcomes and avoiding risks associated with irrational use of medicines. Using WHO drug use indicators, this study evaluated drug use patterns among paediatric outpatient encounters at Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in Bujumbura Mairie, Republic of Burundi.

Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional research assessed paediatric medicine use in 20 PHCs.

Rational use of antibiotics and covariates of clinical outcomes in patients admitted to intensive care units of a tertiary hospital in Kenya.

Objectives: Rational use of antibiotics implies appropriate choice of an antibiotic administered at correct dose, frequency, and duration using the most suitable route of administration. Irrational antibiotics use is associated with antimicrobial resistance, drug failure, and high mortality in the critical care units (CCUs). This study sought to establish rational use of antibiotics and determinants of clinical outcomes of patients admitted to the CCUs at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Factors impacting on diabetes knowledge, medication adherence and glycemic control among adult diabetics visiting a county teaching and referral hospital in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: optimal management of diabetes involves interplay between patients' understanding of their disease and medication adherence, which would eventually influence glycemic control. However, there is scant published literature on the interconnection of patient related factors that impact on optimal management of diabetes in resource-limited settings such as Kenya.

Methods: a hospital based cross-sectional survey involving 270 freely consenting adult diabetics investigated the interconnection between diabetes knowledge, medication adherence and glycemic control.

Profiles of patients on warfarin anticoagulation therapy in a leading tertiary referral hospital in Kenya; findings and implications for Kenya.

: Patients' profiles affect the outcome with warfarin; however, this data, and its implications, is scarce in resource-poor countries without access to pharmacogenetics or regular INR testing.: To characterize the profiles of patients on long-term warfarin therapy and subsequently use these to guide future anticoagulation management.: Cross-sectional study among 180 adult patients receiving warfarin therapy in at a leading referral hospital in Kenya.

Medication-related problems among adult chronic kidney disease patients in a sub-Saharan tertiary hospital.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are prone to medication-related problems (MRPs). Few studies address the clinical relevance of MRPs among CKD patients in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To investigate the frequency and predictors of MRPs among adult CKD patients treated at a tertiary care facility in an urban sub-Saharan setting.