MIND LINES AGAINST GUIDELINES IN TREATMENT OF MALARIA …
507
Table 5.-‐
Comparison of adherence of prescriptions with standard treatment guidelines for malaria
prescribed in public and private tertiary healthcare facilities in the two cities.
Variables
Adherence of pr scriptions with standard treatment guidelines
for malaria
n
Median
U
P value
Cities
Islamabad = 300
Rawalpindi = 300
Islamabad = 10
Rawalpindi =
10
4.440
0.300
Sector
Public = 300
Private = 300
Public = 10
Private = 10
4.468
0.389
Table 6.-‐
Comparison of adherence of prescribers with standard treatment guidelines for malaria
having different level of experience and designations working in tertiary healthcare facilities.
Variables
Adh rence of prescribers with standard treatment guide n for
malaria
n
Median
H
P value
Experience
Less than 1 year =
121
1-5 years = 244
6-10 years = 142
More than 10 years
= 93
Less than 1 year =
10
1-5 years = 10
6-10 years = 10
More than 10 years
= 10
6.482
0.090
Designation
House officer = 206
Medical officer =
346
Specialist = 48
House officer = 10
Medical officer =
10
Specialist = 10
1.213
0.560
4. DISCUSSION
Irrational use of drugs is a major challenge faced by the healthcare systems
of developing countries. Prescribing of anti-‐malarial drugs to patients without
evidence of malaria parasitaemia and the recurrent absence of treatment for
alternative causes of disease is a common practice at healthcare facilities in these
countries (10).
