Antibiotics 'abused' in Africapublished at 11:27 British Summer Time 22 August 2016
Anne Soy
BBC Africa, Nairobi
Image source, AFPGiving patients multiple drugs can leads to adverse reactions, researchers say
A new study has found that doctors in sub-Sahara Africa generally prescribe more drugs than the number recommended by the World Health Organization.
The study, published in the BMC Public Health Journal, external, reveals that a patient seeking treatment in the region is likely to be asked to take more medicine than they should ideally be given leading to misuse or overuse of drugs.
The researchers, from the University of London and Ghana’s Health Policy Consult, reviewed dozens of studies on drug prescription in 11 sub-Saharan African countries and found that that every time a patient sees a doctor, an average of three drugs are prescribed. The WHO recommends a maximum of two per hospital visit.
The researchers say this finding points to a growing trend called poly-pharmacy, where patients are given multiple drugs, which can lead to adverse reactions between different medicines, errors in dispensing or cause the user to confuse dosage.
The researchers also found that half the time, one is likely to be given an antibiotic, often, without being tested.
This practice was found to be more common in profit-making institutions where financial incentives are thought to influence over-prescription.
Over-use of antibiotics can lead to resistance, a growing problem globally.
