Prescription of antimalarials at Kisangani University Clinics, Democratic Republic of Congo

The objective of this study was to contribute to the improvement of medical prescription of antimalarials at Kisangani University Clinics. This a cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection, based on 200 medical prescriptions from patients aged 3 days to 80 years, treated for malaria from March to December 2019. The study took place between March and May, 2020. Sixty one percent of patients suffered from uncomplicated malaria and 39% from severe malaria. Information on the total quantity of medicines to be taken, the dose, the rate of administration and the duration of the treatment were not mentioned respectively in 6.5, 15.5, 5.5 and 14.5% of prescriptions. No prescription mentioned the qualification of the prescriber or his phone number. The prescribed antimalarial was not appropriate in 15.5% of prescriptions in that artesunate and artemether were used to treat uncomplicated malaria. Artesunate was slightly more prescribed than quinine for severe malaria (55.4 versus 44.6%). The prescribed dose and duration of treatment were inadequate in 4.7 and 0.6% of the prescriptions, respectively. Twenty point seven percent (20.7%) of the overall prescriptions were found to be non-compliant. The medical prescriptions of antimalarial drugs issued to patients at the university clinics of Kisangani do not always comply with national regulations and directives in this area. Although these deficiencies appear to be minimal, they might lead to ineffective treatment, treatment failures and recurrence of malaria. Prescribers should be regularly retrained as to this. Key words: Malaria, prescription practices, antimalarials, treatment guidelines, policy adherence, Tshopo, Democratic Republic of Congo.