Antimicrobial prescription pattern in a tertiary hospital

Background: Antimicrobials are nonreplaceable in the treatment of bacterial infections and thus should be used judiciously. In Nigeria, there is currently no restriction on the prescription and sale of antimicrobials. This study was conducted to assess the antimicrobial prescription pattern of physicians at a tertiary hospital in Northwestern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A point prevalence survey was carried out among all inpatients at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in June 2015. Those receiving an antimicrobial agent during the survey period were included in the study while patients admitted on the day of the survey were excluded from the study. Data were obtained using a structured interviewer­administered questionnaire and abstraction from patient records. Information obtained included demographic data, antimicrobial agents prescribed, indication for treatment, laboratory data, and stop/review dates of prescriptions. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Twenty­three wards with a total number of 318 inpatients were enlisted. Of these, 210 (66%) patients were on treatment with antimicrobials. Male: female ratio of patients on antimicrobials was 1.2:1, and age of respondents ranged from 1 day (0.0027 years) to 75 years. The overall antimicrobial prevalence rate was 210 (66%) with surgical prophylaxis 100 (47.6%) as the most common indication. Overall, 332 antimicrobials were prescribed with cephalosporins as the most common class prescribed 96 (28.9%). Majority of the prescriptions (328, 98.8%) were based on empirical treatment, 288 (86.7%) were open prescriptions, and only 4 (1.2%) were according to treatment guidelines. Conclusion: The high prevalence of antimicrobial use highlights the need for an antimicrobial stewardship program in this facility

Prevalence and pattern of parasitic infestations among nomadic Fulani children in a grazing reserve in Northwestern Nigeria

Background: Nomadic pastoralists lack access to basic sanitary and health-care facilities mainly because their mode of life makes them a hard to reach group. In the Nigerian context, there is dearth of knowledge about the interplay between their lifestyle and health indices.Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the association between the prevalence of parasitic infestation among nomadic Fulani children in Ladduga grazing reserve, Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and pattern of parasitic infestation among nomadic Fulani children in Ladduga grazing reserve, Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using questionnaires, physical examination, automated hemocytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based serum ferritin assay, and formol-ether concentration-based stool tests on 337 children (5­15 years) at Ladduga grazing reserve, Northwestern Nigeria. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The prevalence of parasitic infestation was 14.4% (49/337). The predominant parasites found were hookworm species, i.e., Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale (46.9%) and Schistosoma mansoni (26.6%) while Ascaris lumbricoides, Hymenolepis nana, and Enterobius vermicularis accounted for 26.6%. Anemia was found in 40.4% (137/340) of the children with a statistically significant difference between younger (5­9 years) and older children (10­15 years; P < 0.05). Of those with parasites in the stools, 53% of children had anemia. Iron deficiency anemia was found in only 8.1% (4/49) of children. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia was high in the studied population, but iron deficiency was not a major cause despite hookworm infestation, thus necessitating the need for further studies to identify other causes of anemia among this group