Evaluation of physicians’ prescribing patterns of antimalarial drugs during pregnancy at the obstetrics and gynaecology department of a teaching hospital in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria

The aim of the present study is to assess physicians’ prescribing patterns of antimalarial drugs during pregnancy. The study was conducted at the obstetrics and gynaecology department of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Borno state, Nigeria. A retrospective review of Medical case files of pregnant women that were prescribed antimalarial drugs for twelve months period in 2009 was undertaken. Data analysis was done using the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on malaria in pregnancy and the Nigerian National Antimalarial Treatment Guidelines. The mean age of the studied group was 24.93 ± 5.43 years. Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine 226(72.67%) were prescribed for prophylaxis. Artemisinin alone/combinations 66(21.22%) were prescribed for treatment of clinical infestations, followed by quinine 3(0.96%) and chloroquine 1(0.32%). There was a significant association (p<0.001) between the antimalarial drugs prescribed and the goal of therapy. The diagnostic approach used for the prescription of the various antimalarial drugs for treatment in these pregnant women showed that 80% of the diagnoses were based on clinical signs and symptoms while only 20% were based on laboratory investigations. Antimalarial drugs prescribed in Generic Names were 23(7.4%); there was significant association (p<0.001) between the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) of drugs prescribed and the Name of Antimalarial drugs. In conclusion, the antimalarial drugs prescribing patterns was found to be inappropriate. There was lack of compliance with prompt parasitological confirmation by microscopy or alternatively by Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) in all pregnant women suspected of malaria before treatments were started and generic prescriptions.