TABLE 4.
Types and patterns of non-adherence to standard treatment guidelines in prescriptions (individual drugs) for children admitted to Gondama Hospital, Sierra Leone (January–April 2011)
| Type of non-adherence | Malaria prescriptions (n = 864) | LRTI prescriptions (n = 1141) | |||||||
| Total n (%) | Age <5 years n (%) | Age≥ 5 years n (%) | Total n (%) | Age<5 years n (%) | Age ≥5 years n (%) | ||||
| Dosage | |||||||||
| Under-prescription | 10 (1.1) | 8 (0.9) | 2 (0.2) | 45 (4.0) | 43 (3.8) | 2 (0.2) | |||
| Over-prescription | 20 (2.3) | 17 (2.0) | 3 (0.3) | 139 (12.2) | 137 (12.0) | 2 (0.2) | |||
| Total | 30 (3.5) | 25 (2.9) | 5 (0.6) | 184 (16.2) | 180 (15.8) | 4 (0.4) | |||
| Frequency | |||||||||
| Under-prescription | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (0.4) | 5 (0.4) | 0 | |||
| Over-prescription | 2 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 22 (2.0) | 19 (1.7) | 3 (0.3) | |||
| Total | 2 (0.2) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 27 (2.4) | 24 (2.1) | 3 (0.3) | |||
| Duration | |||||||||
| Under-prescription | 8 (0.9) | 6 (0.7) | 2 (0.2) | 399 (34.9) | 393 (34.4) | 6 (0.5) | |||
| Over-prescription | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.1) | 0 | |||
| Total | 8 (0.9) | 6 (0.7) | 2 (0.2) | 400 (35.0) | 394 (34.5) | 6 (0.5) | |||
LRTI = lower respiratory tract infection.