A prospective descriptive observational study using WHO indicator forms and questionnaire was carried out in Kibaha district public primary health care facilities. We assessed knowledge about drugs in mothers/guardians of sick children under age five years immediately after consulting clinicians and after receiving drugs from the dispenser. The questionnaires had closed- and open-ended questions. Interviews were administered by trained nurses and the authors. The prescribing, dispensing practices, including drug labeling and instructions given to mothers/guardians on how to use drugs at home, in these health facilities which are under the Essential Drugs Program (EDP), was assessed. A total of 652 prescriptions from mothers/guardians with sick children under age five years were observed, recorded and analyzed. Prescribing indicators were used as stipulated by the WHO/DAP/93.1 how to investigate drug use in health facilities. The diagnosis for malaria cases made by the clinicians on average per facility were as follows: malaria alone 25, diarrhea alone 3, pneumonia alone 3, malaria and diarrhea 4 cases, malaria and pneumonia 2 cases and malaria and other conditions 14 cases. The average number of drugs per prescription in these facilities was 2.3 and the percentage generic prescribing was 87.0, antibiotics 30.5, and injections 26.2, with 93.5 % of all prescribed drugs being within the Essential Drugs List (EDL). The overall average dispensing time was 1.4 minutes per patient, of the drugs prescribed, 54.7 % were dispensed, whereas 21.4 % of drugs dispensed to mothers/guardians were adequately labeled, and 37.2 % of mothers knew how to administer drugs correctly to their sick children after receiving the drugs from the dispenser. These results suggest the need for educational intervention for prescribers (health care providers) on rational prescribing of drugs, such as antimalarials, antibiotics, injections, proper dispensing, and adequate labeling drugs in packets, while the dispensing time for drugs was too short. It is necessary to correct these malpractices of irrational prescribing and dispensing drugs for treatment of malaria and other childhood illnesses in public primary health care facilities (PHC). Furthermore, inadequate physical examination and short consultation time needs to be improved. There is a need to advise the Ministry of Health to develop health education programs on a regular basis for all health care providers in the country and mothers/guardians of children in general public/rural communities on how to use/administer antimalarials and other drugs at home. All these can be achieved through well planned health education training programs.
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J Rehabil Med
January 2025
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan.
Objective: To determine the impact of mobilization training time during the first postoperative week on the length of hospital stay for postoperative patients admitted to an intensive care unit.
Design: A retrospective cohort study.
Patients: Consecutive patients who underwent elective surgery and stayed in the intensive care unit of a university hospital for more than 48 h between July 2017 and August 2020 were enrolled.
Pediatr Dev Pathol
January 2025
Department of Neonatology, Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Yangtze River Delta Integration Demonstration Zone (Qingpu), Shanghai, China.
In recent years, infection has emerged as a main concern in the field of children's public health. This bacterium, known to be a pollutant, can be found in various settings such as hospital wards, equipment, breast milk, nutrient solution, and so on. With its high pathogenicity and toxicity, infection can lead to severe and life-threatening symptoms, particularly in premature infants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFS Afr J Surg
December 2024
Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, South Africa.
Background: Postoperative patients' risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be predicted using the adapted Caprini risk assessment model which informs administration of postoperative VTE prophylaxis. The study aimed to assess the appropriateness of postoperative VTE prophylaxis of patients according to the adapted Caprini scores and investigate whether a patient's HIV status influenced postoperative VTE prophylaxis administration.
Methods: This cohort study included patients who had elective or urgent surgery at a tertiary hospital, Bloemfontein.
S Afr J Surg
December 2024
Centre for Global Surgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Background: District hospitals in South Africa have limited surgical capacity and regional hospitals treat most essential surgical conditions. This study aimed to describe the pathway and time to regional hospital surgical care for persons with general surgery conditions (PSC) in South Africa.
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Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care
January 2025
Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Kepler University Hospital and Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria.
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