[Availability of antimalarial agents in Dutch hospitals].

Objective: To investigate the availability of antimalarial agents for the treatment of falciparum malaria in all Dutch hospital pharmacies, including changes in the situation over a period of two years.

Design: Descriptive.

Method: In the period October 2006 to March 2007 all Dutch hospital pharmacies were questioned about the availability of antimalarial agents, by means of a telephone survey. The survey was repeated at the end of 2008.

Results: The percentage of hospitals that had quinine in stock increased from 72 (62 of the 86 hospitals responding) to 80 (73 of 91 hospitals). In 2008 artesunate was in stock in 7 hospitals. At the end of 2008 18 Dutch hospitals had no medication available for the treatment of severe malaria tropica; 6 hospitals had no agents for the treatment of malaria at all.

Conclusion: The ideal situation, in which every hospital in the Netherlands has a supply of adequate agents for the treatment of severe malaria, has not yet been achieved.