Malaria treatment in Lagos private clinics/hospitals: physicians' compliance with the world health organisation recommendations

Poor knowledge about antimalarial drugs is a major cause of incorrect use of the drugs, therefore emergence and spread of multidrug resistance is promoted. Accurate information about current practices is a good strategy for improving compliance and combating the spread of resistance malaria. This study is there conducted to evaluate the knowledge of doctors in Lagos private clinics/hospitals about antimalarial drugs and to also ascertain if they follow the World Health Organization's recommendations for malarial treatment. 360 doctors were interviewed with a standard questionnaire, 67% and 61% were able to identify artemether + umefantrine and artesunate + mefloquine respectively as antimalarial drugs. Chloroquine (42%) and sulfadoxine + pyrimethamine (19%) were the commonly used drugs for treating uncomplicated malaria. Only 5.5% doctors would use artemether + lumefantrine and artesunate + mefloquine combinations as alternative first choice drugs. Doctors that were young in the practice would use artemether + lumefantrine and artesunate + mefloquine more than those that were older in the practice. It was concluded that poor knowledge about antimalarial drugs exists amongst medical doctors in Lagos private clinics/hospitals irrespective of their levels, specialties or years of experience. Artemesinin combination therapy were rarely used to treat uncomplicated malaria. Keywords: malaria treatment, combined antimalarial drugs, artemesinin combination therapy, private clinics, Nigeria Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 49(5) 2006: 102-11