Prescriptions involving analgesic drugs at a secondary health facility in Ibadan, Nigeria

Introduction: Pain is a cardinal feature of inflammation and is responsible for majority of hospital visits. The non-opioid analgesics possess antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activity and thus are often employed for such purpose of controlling inflammation as well as antipyretic. The non-opioid analgesics are freely available devoid of causing dependence but their potential harmful effects can sometimes be serious. The needfor rational drug use is paramount and requires evaluation of physicians practice to serve as basis for continue medical education.Methods: A retrospective assessment of pattern of prescription at a secondary health facility owned by one of the 36 states of the federation of Nigeria. The age, sex, the drugs prescribed per patient were recorded and prescriptions involving analgesics were further analyzed. Proportions were compared using X2 and statistical significance was set at

Attitude and Practice of Doctors Toward Adverse Drug Reactions (adrs) Reporting in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Facility

Background : Adverse drug reactions, (ADRs), constitute an importantcause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Spontaneous adverse drugreaction (ADR) reporting is the bedrock of post-marketing surveillancebut under-reporting remains its major drawback.Objectives : This study aimed at evaluating the attitude and practiceof ADR among doctors in a tertiary health facility in Oyo State, Nigeria, with a view to improving ADRs reporting.Methods : This was a cross-sectional questionnaire based study involving medical doctors working at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso. Consenting doctors were  evaluated on their attitude and practice of ADRs through self-administered questionnaire. Data obtained were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 17.Results : A total of 35 doctors responded to the questionnaires. Only about 57.1% considered ADR before prescribing, all of whom were also aware of the procedure for reporting. Awareness of the existence of National Pharmacovigilance Center (NPC) was 71.4%. Thirty (85.7%) of the respondents have encountered ADR, but only 2.9% have ever reported it with yellow form. Majority (85.7%) of the respondents did not consider ADR reporting as a useful tool in the prevention of drug related morbidities and mortalities. Other factors that may hinder ADR reporting include: lack of awareness of the existence of yellow forms for reporting (68.6%) and poor knowledge of procedure for reporting (48.6%).Conclusion : ADR reporting rate was very low among the participants in this small study; large studies aimed at evaluating the determinants of ADR reporting should be considered. Should these findings be confirmed, training and re-retraining through Continuing Medical Education (CME), and establishment of pharmacovigilance committee would be required to ensure a national pharmaovigilance system.Keywords: Adverse drug reactions, Attitude, Practice, Reporting, Clinical Pharmacolog

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Intravascular haemolysis following treatment of Malaria with halofantrine: Case report

No Abstract. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 9(2) 2006: pp.174-17

Use of chloroquine in uncomplicated falciparum malaria chemotherapy: The past, the present and the future

Chloroquine is a 4-aminoquinoline discovered over five decades ago for treatment of uncomplicated malaria. It was widely used as first line treatment and prophylaxis for individuals going into malaria endemicregions. It was initially highly effective against the four Plasmodium species (P. falciparum, P. malaria, P. ovale and P. vivax) infecting human. It is also effective against gametocytes except those of P. falciparum.Resistance of P. falciparum to chloroquine is widespread and led to discontinuation of chloroquine in malaria treatment by most countries. In recent times, evidences are emerging for chloroquine to probablysecure its original place in treatment of acute uncomplicated falciparum malaria. This would be a welcome idea since chloroquine is readily available, relatively safer and cheaper than most currently use antimalarialdrugs. Thus, researchers should intensify efforts on periodic in vitro monitoring of chloroquine efficacy; clinicians should further discourage use of chloroquine until efficacy is remarkably restored and pharmaceutical industries should look into potential chloroquine and chloroquine-resistance reversal fixed and non-fixed doses combinations

Efficacy of Artesunate plus Cotrimoxazole and Artesunate-Pyrimethamine-Sulphadoxine combination in the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum hyperparasitaemia

No Abstract.Nigerian Medical Journal Vol. 46 (4) 2005: pp.83-8