Table 7 |
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|
Use of AL: frequency of prescription, and appropriateness of dosing and counseling (whether or not AL was indicated, according to guidelines) in outpatient health facilities, Huambo Province, Angola |
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|
Characteristic and patient sub-group |
No. and weighted percentage of patients |
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|
|
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|
n |
% |
(95% CI) |
||
|
|
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|
AL prescribed (whether or not indicated, according to guidelines) among all 177 patients |
62a |
35.5 |
(24.9-46.2) |
|
|
Quality of dosing for the 62 patients who received AL |
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|
Correctly dosed |
59 |
95.1 |
(89.2-100) |
|
|
Underdosed |
2 |
3.9 |
(51.4-88.4) |
|
|
Overdosed |
0 |
0 |
(NC) |
|
|
AL not recommended (weight < 5 kg) |
1 |
1.0 |
(0-3.1) |
|
|
First AL dose given during consultation (for the 62 patients who received AL) |
9 |
10.7 |
(1.2-20.3) |
|
|
Quality of counseling for the 62 patients who received AL |
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|
HW gave complete dosing instructions (definition of a dose, no. of doses/day, and treatment duration)b |
55 |
88.2 |
(78.3-98.2) |
|
|
HW advised to take the medicine with food |
17 |
31.3 |
(12.3-50.2) |
|
|
Patient could repeat all dosing instructions given by the HW (even if HW's dosage was incorrect)c |
43 |
60.9 |
(44.2-77.6) |
|
|
HW advised to take the medicine with milk or fat-containing food |
4 |
4.9 |
(0-10.8) |
|
|
HW advised to return for a follow-up visit |
8 |
14.4 |
(0.4-28.3) |
|
|
HW advised to sleep under a bed net to prevent malaria |
0 |
0 |
(NC) |
|
|
HW advised to return to the health facility if the patient becomes seriously ill |
5 |
5.8 |
(0-11.8) |
|
|
HW advised to complete all the treatment (take all medicines) |
41 |
69.9 |
(51.4-88.4) |
|
|
|
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|
AL = artemether-lumefantrine; CI = confidence interval; HW = health worker; NC = not calculated. a Of these 62 patients, 59 actually had AL in hand; for the other 3 patients, AL had been prescribed but the medicines were not given. b Dosing instructions were considered complete even if the dosage was incorrect, although in nearly all cases (53 of the 55 patients) the dosage was correct. c Patient had to correctly repeat the definition of a dose, the number of doses per day, and the treatment duration. The response "ate que termine" (until all the medicines are done) was considered a correct response for treatment duration. The denominator of this statistic was 60 (2 missing values). |
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|
Rowe et al. Malaria Journal 2009 8:275 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-8-275 |
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