[Study considering the use of medicines in children receiving free care].

INTRODUCTION

Rational medical prescription is a concern for the health systems and policies of African countries. The purpose of this study was to analyze the use of medicines in children aged 0 to 5 years receiving free care.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study considering the use of medicines in 20 randomly selected health facilities level 1 in Ouagadougou. The reference of the World Health Organization and of the International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (WHO/INRUD) was used to analyze data. Descriptive statistics were used as the average and standard deviation. Differences were measured using ANOVA test.

RESULTS

In total, 1.206 prescriptions were reviewed between April 2016 and March 2017. The number of medicines issued on prescription was 2.9, the percentage of generic medicines prescribed was 88.7% and 97.7% of medicines prescribed were registered on the National List of Essential Medicines. The percentage of consultations during which antibiotics were prescribed was 83.2%, and 9.3% of prescriptions contained at least one injectable product.

CONCLUSION

Irrational prescription is mainly relates to the use of antibiotics. Essential alertness should be given to the treatment of children less than 5 years to avoid an excessive consumption of medicines and the emergence of antibiotic resistance.