An Assessment of Medication Errors Among Pediatric Patients in Three Hospitals in Freetown Sierra Leone: Findings and Implications for a Low-Income Country.

Background: Pediatric patients are prone to medicine-related problems like medication errors (MEs), which can potentially cause harm. Yet, this has not been studied in this population in Sierra Leone. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence and nature of MEs, including potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs), in pediatric patients. Methods: The study was conducted in three hospitals among pediatric patients in Freetown and consisted of two phases. Phase one was a cross-sectional retrospective review of prescriptions for completeness and accuracy based on the global accuracy score against standard prescription writing guidelines. Phase two was a point prevalence inpatient chart review of MEs categorized into prescription, administration, and dispensing errors and pDDIs. Data was analyzed using frequency, percentages, median, and interquartile range. Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to compare the prescription accuracy between the hospitals, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Three hundred and sixty-six (366) pediatric prescriptions and 132 inpatient charts were reviewed in phases one and two of the study, respectively. In phase one, while no prescription attained the global accuracy score (GAS) gold standard of 100%, 106 (29.0%) achieved the 80-100% mark. The patient 63 (17.2%), treatment 228 (62.3%), and prescriber 33 (9.0%) identifiers achieved an overall GAS range of 80-100%. Although the total GAS was not statistically significant (p=0.065), the date (p=0.041), patient (p=<0.001), treatment (p=0.022), and prescriber (p=<0.001) identifiers were statistically significant across the different hospitals. For phase two, the prevalence of MEs was 74 (56.1%), while that of pDDIs was 54 (40.9%). There was a statistically positive correlation between the occurrence of pDDI and number of medicines prescribed (r=0.211, P=0.015). Conclusion: A Low GAS indicates poor compliance with prescription writing guidelines and high prescription errors. Medication errors were observed at each phase of the medication use cycle, while clinically significant pDDIs were also reported. Thus, there is a need for training on prescription writing guidelines and medication errors.

Burden of cardiometabolic risk factors and preclinical target organ damage among adults in Freetown, Sierra Leone: a community-based health-screening survey.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs), target organ damage (TOD) and its associated factors among adults in Freetown, Sierra Leone. DESIGN: This community-based cross-sectional study used a stratified multistage random sampling method to recruit adult participants. SETTING: The health screening study was conducted between October 2019 and October 2021 in Western Area Urban, Sierra Leone. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2394 adult Sierra Leoneans aged 20 years or older were enrolled. OUTCOME MEASURE: Anthropometric data, fasting lipid profiles, fasting plasma glucose, TOD, clinical profiles and demographic characteristics of participants were described. The cardiometabolic risks were further related to TOD. RESULTS: The prevalence of known CMRFs was 35.3% for hypertension, 8.3% for diabetes mellitus, 21.1% for dyslipidaemia, 10.0% for obesity, 13.4% for smoking and 37.9% for alcohol. Additionally, 16.1% had left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) by ECG, 14.2% had LVH by two-dimensional echo and 11.4% had chronic kidney disease (CKD). The odds of developing ECG-LVH were higher with diabetes (OR=1.255, 95% CI (0.822 to 1.916) and dyslipidaemia (OR=1.449, 95% CI (0.834 to 2.518). Associated factors for higher odds of Left Ventricular Mass Index by echo were dyslipidaemia (OR=1.844, 95% CI (1.006 to 3.380)) and diabetes mellitus (OR=1.176, 95% CI (0.759 to 1.823)). The odds of having CKD were associated with diabetes mellitus (OR=1.212, 95% CI (0.741 to 1.983)) and hypertension (OR=1.163, 95% CI (0.887 to 1.525)). A low optimal cut-off point for ECG-LVH (male 24.5 mm vs female 27.5 mm) was required to maximise sensitivity and specificity by a receiver operating characteristics curve since the odds for LVH by ECG were low. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel data-driven information on the burden of CMRF and its association with preclinical TOD in a resource-limited setting. It illustrates the need for interventions in improving cardiometabolic health screening and management in Sierra Leonean.

Antibiotic use and consumption in Freetown, Sierra Leone: A baseline report of prescription stewardship in outpatient clinics of three tertiary hospitals.

Objective: As there are no country-representative data on bacterial sensitivities to guide antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions, an AMS programme was established in the outpatient clinics of three tertiary hospitals in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design to collect antibiotic prescribing data from 370 pregnant women and lactating mothers, 314 children and 229 regular patients in the outpatient clinics of the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH), Ola During Children's Hospital and Connaught Hospital (CH), respectively, in April 2022. All data were analysed using Stata Version 16. Results: Of 913 patients, most were female (n=635, 69.5%), treated at PCMH (n=370, 40.5%) and had a bacterial infection (n=661, 72.4%). The indication for prescribing antibiotics was inappropriate in 252 (27.6%) patients. Of the 1236 prescriptions, 393 (31.8%) were made at CH. The duration of antibiotic use was not stated in 230 (18.6%) prescriptions. Overall antibiotic consumption was 55.3 defined daily doses per 1000 outpatient-days. Conclusion: Gaps in antibiotic prescriptions were identified in the outpatient clinics of three national referral hospitals in Sierra Leone. In order to combat antimicrobial resistance, AMS interventions are needed to reduce the prescription of antibiotics for inappropriate indications or without specified duration.

The burden of renal admissions in a tertiary Hospital in Sierra Leone.

BACKGROUND: The burden of both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease is on the rise globally. In sierra Leone, there has been no data on renal patients or admissions. This study intends to close this gap in knowledge and give preliminary data on the burden of renal disease in this country. METHODS: The study was a retrospective review of the case notes of patients admitted at Connaught Hospital, Freetown over a 2 year period. Data extraction was done using a well- structured proforma. RESULTS: A 2.7% renal admission burden was obtained; mean duration of hospital stay was 15.1 ± 14.7; mean age of patients was 47.2 ± 17.5 with a female preponderance. The common risk factors for chronic kidney disease were systemic hypertension (43%) and diabetes mellitus (24%). The common risk factors for acute kidney injury were sepsis (77%) and hypovolemia (15%). The in- hospital mortality rate was 47% and 73% were non-compliant with haemodialysis probably due to financial reasons. CONCLUSION: There is a significant burden of kidney disease in our environment, affecting mainly our young and middle-aged population. A rational approach is to embark on kidney disease prevention programs.

Antibiotic resistance in patients with clinical features of healthcare-associated infections in an urban tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Available data on antibiotic resistance in sub-Saharan Africa is limited despite its increasing threat to global public health. As there is no previous study on antibiotic resistance in patients with clinical features of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Sierra Leone, research is needed to inform public health policies. Our study aimed to assess antibiotic resistance rates from isolates in the urine and sputum samples of patients with clinical features of HAIs. METHODOLOGY: We conducted a cross-sectional study of adult inpatients aged ≥18 years at Connaught Hospital, an urban tertiary care hospital in Freetown between February and June 2018. RESULTS: Over the course of the study, we enrolled 164 patients. Risk factors for HAIs were previous antibiotic use (93.3%), comorbidities (58.5%) and age (≥65 years) (23.9%). Of the 164 samples, 89.6% were urine. Bacterial growth was recorded in 58.8% of cultured specimens; the type of specimen was an independent predictor of bacterial growth (p < 0.021). The most common isolates were Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae; 29.2% and 19.0% in urine samples and 18.8% and 31.3% in sputum samples, respectively. The overall resistance rates were 58% for all extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms, 13.4% for carbapenem-resistant non-lactose fermenting gram-negative bacilli, 8.7% for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and 1.3% for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). There were no carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (CRPA) isolates but all Staphylococcus aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant S. aureus. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a high prevalence rate of ESBL-producing organisms which are a significant burden at the main tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone. Urgent action is needed to strengthen microbiological diagnostic infrastructure, initiate surveillance on antibiotic resistance and develop and implement policy framework on antibiotic stewardship.

Evaluation of an advanced physical diagnosis course using consumer preferences methods: the nominal group technique.

BACKGROUND: Current evaluation tools of medical school courses are limited by the scope of questions asked and may not fully engage the student to think on areas to improve. The authors sought to explore whether a technique to study consumer preferences would elicit specific and prioritized information for course evaluation from medical students. METHODS: Using the nominal group technique (4 sessions), 12 senior medical students prioritized and weighed expectations and topics learned in a 100-hour advanced physical diagnosis course (4-week course; February 2012). Students weighted their top 3 responses (top = 3, middle = 2 and bottom = 1). RESULTS: Before the course, 12 students identified 23 topics they expected to learn; the top 3 were review sensitivity/specificity and high-yield techniques (percentage of total weight, 18.5%), improving diagnosis (13.8%) and reinforce usual and less well-known techniques (13.8%). After the course, students generated 22 topics learned; the top 3 were practice and reinforce advanced maneuvers (25.4%), gaining confidence (22.5%) and learn the evidence (16.9%). The authors observed no differences in the priority of responses before and after the course (P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: In a physical diagnosis course, medical students elicited specific and prioritized information using the nominal group technique. The course met student expectations regarding education of the evidence-based physical examination, building skills and confidence on the proper techniques and maneuvers and experiential learning. The novel use for curriculum evaluation may be used to evaluate other courses-especially comprehensive and multicomponent courses.