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Papers by berko anto

Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice

Background The success of tuberculosis treatment relies on patients adhering to their medication ... more Background The success of tuberculosis treatment relies on patients adhering to their medication regimen consistently. However, adherence levels tend to decrease among patients who experience adverse drug reactions to antitubercular medications, leading to suboptimal treatment outcomes. Hence, this study aimed to examine the types, incidence rates, and severity of adverse reactions caused by first-line antitubercular drugs. Additionally, it aimed to identify factors associated with the development of these reactions. By doing so, the study aimed to facilitate the provision of personalized and effective treatment to patients, ultimately improving treatment outcomes. Methods Newly diagnosed patients with active tuberculosis were monitored from the start of their treatment until the completion of therapy. Any adverse reactions to anti-TB drugs that they encountered were carefully recorded. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods such as analysis of varian...

Eyelash extension has become common practice for enhancing beauty among Ghanaian women on occasio... more Eyelash extension has become common practice for enhancing beauty among Ghanaian women on occasions such as weddings, festivities, and other social gatherings including funerals. This study was therefore conducted to ascertain the effect of eyelash extension on the eyelid and on vision. One hundred and twenty (120) females who had had prior experience with eyelash extension were interviewed on; reasons for extension, frequency of extension, and various problems encountered after extension of their eyelashes. Majorities (94.2%) of the respondents were aged 10-39 years and were literate (91.5%). About 70% (i.e. 69.2%) have undergone eyelash extension more than once. The major purpose (81.6%) for extending their eyelashes was to enhance their beauty, with eyelash replacement accounting for only 1.7% of respondents. One hundred and seventeen (97.5%) had one or more of these problems; dry eyes, itchy eyelids, tearing, burning sensation, lid swelling and pain, casting of shadows in vision, misdirected eyelashes, purulent discharge and eyelashes falling into the eye. Thirty nine (32.5%) had difficulty removing the eyelash extensions. Irrespective of the various difficulties they encountered 65% still intend fixing their eyelashes again because they thought it was fashionable. Eyelash extension could have unfavourable effect on the eyelid and vision. Beauticians should be well trained to ensure safety of the procedure while females should be educated on the potential ocular health hazards of eyelash extension.

Research Square (Research Square), Jan 30, 2023

Background Tuberculosis affects patients' health-related quality of life because of its symptoms,... more Background Tuberculosis affects patients' health-related quality of life because of its symptoms, prolonged duration of treatment and associated stigma. By identifying patients at greater risk of poor quality of life, interventional measures could be implemented to improve the health-related quality of life, medication adherence rates and treatment success for holistic patient care. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the quality of life of tuberculosis patients at baseline and its changes with treatment and to investigate the relationship between the quality of life and socio-demographic and clinical variables. Methods A prospective cohort study of newly diagnosed active tuberculosis patients was conducted between January 2021 and June 2022. The short-form 12 version 2 (SF12v2) questionnaire was administered at baseline, and follow-up was done at the end of the intensive phase and end of treatment to assess participants' health-related quality of life at each stage of treatment. Higher physical and mental component summary scores indicate better quality of life. To identify independent relationships with quality of life, a logistic regression model was performed. Results At the start of treatment, 78.8% of participants had a physical impairment, while 25.7% were at risk of depression. Even though the quality of life improved with treatment, 59.5% of participants still had a physical impairment, and 15.5% were depressed at the end of treatment. Alcohol use (p = 0.03) and HIV infection (p = 0.021) reduced mental health at baseline. Predictors of physical impairment at the end of therapy include age > 45 years (p = 0.044), female gender (p = 0.01), unemployment (p = 0.009), pulmonary TB (p = 0.001) and starting HIV treatment before TB (p = 0.002). There was a clinically signi cant improvement in the physical component summary score (3.3) but not in mental health (1.7). Conclusion Tuberculosis signi cantly affects patients' quality of life even after completing treatment. Identifying patients who are at greater risk and instituting preventive measures could improve their quality of life for holistic care.

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice

Objective The aim was to evaluate the potential causes of dispensing-label errors at a hospital. ... more Objective The aim was to evaluate the potential causes of dispensing-label errors at a hospital. Methods The study took place at a 1200-bed NHS Foundation Trust with two main pharmacy dispensaries (one manual and one automated). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with staff involved in label-generation errors to obtain in-depth understanding of dispensing-label errors. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed with the aid of Nvivo into themes. Key findings Factors suggested as causing label-generation errors were illegible handwriting, lack of knowledge, hurrying through tasks, distractions, interruptions and the use of past medical records in generating labels. Self-checking every stage of the labelling process was suggested as the key to detecting and preventing errors. Conclusions The study highlights the vulnerability of the label-generation process to errors, with potential causes linked to organisational, environmental, task, team and individual factors.

List of reviewed documents. (DOCX 11Â kb)

Data collection form. (PDF 305 kb)

The antiretroviral therapy outcomes study conducted in Ghana is a multicentre retrospective study... more The antiretroviral therapy outcomes study conducted in Ghana is a multicentre retrospective study among HIV-infected adults offered clinical care at four health facilities in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Demographic and clinical data of patients offered antiretroviral therapy between January 2008 and December 2012 were reviewed. Data were gathered from each patient's hospital records for 36 months beginning from the first day of therapy initiation. The main objective of the study was to investigate treatment outcomes of individual patients after 36 months of therapy. Outcome measures included retention in care, loss to follow-up, mortality, treatment failure and immunologic response to antiretoviral therapy. For patients who were lost to follow up within the study period the duration on treatment before being lost to follow up was also investigated. Data extraction process was started January 2015 and completed in October 2015. Data cleaning and validation was done in July 2016 <br>

There is substantial evidence from the developed world that health care provision is an industry ... more There is substantial evidence from the developed world that health care provision is an industry that frequently, and, avoidably, harms vulnerable people. Over the last decade, the awareness of policy makers and health professionals about patient safety has been raised in many countries all over the world through important reports proposing recommendations for improvement.In spite of the relatively low dispensing error rates further improvements in pharmacy distribution systems are still important because pharmacies dispense such high volumes of medications that even a low error rate can translate into a large number of errors. Human error is inevitable, and organizational risk management experts have proposed the deployment of robust defense systems in the dispensing process.This monograph, reports on three separate but related dispensing error studies aimed at evaluating some of the potential causes of errors and error defense operations in the dispensing process in selected UK ho...

Heliyon, 2020

Background: Uncorrected congenital heart lesions in children keep them in a state of constant hyp... more Background: Uncorrected congenital heart lesions in children keep them in a state of constant hypoxia with compromised quality of life and reduced life expectancy. This requires early diagnosis and interventions including prevention and treatment of the resultant anaemia. Unfortunately, congenital heart disease (CHD) often goes unrecognized and thus untreated. Objectives: We determined the occurrence of CHD in children below 15 years at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), assessed the prevalence of relative iron deficiency anaemia in that cohort and the use of iron supplementation in these patients. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study, using a structured data collection tool, by retrospectively reviewing patient records from December 2015 to January 2010. Data was also obtained prospectively from January 2016 to March 2016. Results: Eighty cases (44 females and 36 males) of CHD were encountered. Tetralogy of Fallot was the most common (48.8%) CHD. Cases of cyanotic congenital heart disease were reported at autopsy. Of the 80 cases, 48 (72.7%) had signs of relative iron deficiency. Thirty (62.5%) of the 48 patients did not receive iron supplementation. In 14 cases, full blood count was not determined and yet 10 patients received iron at sub-optimal doses (<3 mg/kg/day) and one was given iron at 6 mg/kg/day. Conclusion: CHD is a common phenomenon among newborns at KATH. Use of iron supplementation was suboptimal. Compliance with guidelines on the use of iron as well as structures for early detection of CHD for definitive interventions are advocated.

Pharmacy Practice, 2018

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the source of medicines and medicine informatio... more Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the source of medicines and medicine information of persons living with hypertension and diabetes in rural and urban Ghana and assessing if they are influenced by predisposing and enabling factors as defined by Andersen's behavioural model. Methods: A population based cross sectional study was conducted in four (4) rural and four (4) urban districts in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A multistage and proportional sampling method was used in enrolling participants aged 18 years and above. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from respondents. Data collected was exported to STATA for analysis. Descriptive analysis was performed. Chi-square tests/Fisher's exact test and multinomial logistic regression models were used to establish association between variables. Results: A total of 336 self-reported persons with hypertension and diabetes were enrolled in the study with 199(59.23%) living in urban communities. The majority of participants with hypertension and diabetes living in the rural communities 77 (56.20%) were females contrasting with the male majority in urban communities 106 (53. 27%). In the rural communities, 49 (35.77%) of participants sourced medicines from the health centre while 45 (32.85%) and 35(25.55%) sourced medicines from the hospital and over the counter medicine shop (OTCMS) respectively. In the urban communities, 153 (76.88%) sourced medicines from the hospital while 33 (16.58%) sourced medicines from the pharmacy. The predisposing factor age (OR: 1.1, 95%CI 1.040-1.210) under OTCMS, age (OR 1.0, 95%CI: 1.002-1.066) under hospital and enabling factor socioeconomic status (OR: 0.3, 95%CI 0.085-0.855) under Hospital influenced participant's source of medicine in the urban communities. The results also revealed that majority of participants in both rural 99 (72.26%), and urban 164 (82.41%) communities sourced medicine information mainly from public healthcare facilities, pre-disposing factors; age (OR 1.1 95%CI 1.032-1.270) under family member, age (OR 1.1, 95%CI 1.022-1.167) under friend health professional, age (OR 1.1, 95%CI 1.050-1.147) under nearest health institution, marital status (OR: 0.004, 95%CI 0.003-0.441) under friend health Professional were found to influence participants' source of medicine information in the urban communities while in the rural communities the predisposing factor marital status (

BMC Health Services Research, 2019

Background: Given the documented benefits of Patient Own Drugs (PODs) in most developed countries... more Background: Given the documented benefits of Patient Own Drugs (PODs) in most developed countries and scanty data on PODs management in developing countries the aim of the study was to evaluate the assessment, quality and extent of PODs use among hospitalised patients. Furthermore the perceived benefits and challenges in executing PODs management by the pharmacy staff in the hospital setting were explored. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Three hundred patients with chronic diseases admitted in a teaching hospital were purposively sampled. Quality assessment criteria was developed as part of the data collection tool for assessing the quality of PODs. Furthermore, two ward pharmacists and two in-charge nurses at the medical ward were purposively sampled for a face to face interview using an interview guide to find out the hospitals' medicines management system and policy for PODs. In addition, 130 pharmacy staff were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to find out how PODs were managed. Data was analysed with SPSS version 17. Results: The study showed that 140 (46.6%) of patients brought their PODs on admission. Of these, only 38 (12.7%) were told to bring them whenever they were on admission. Of the 115 (38.3) patients whose PODs were documented as part of medication history, 28 (24.3%) of them had their PODs continued whilst on admission and 11(9.5%) of discharged prescription included PODs. In assessing the quality of PODs 61.6% of 845 PODs were suitable for reuse. Only 19.8% of pharmacy staff attested to the fact that all PODs identified were assessed. The common benefit of PODs cited by pharmacy staff was improving medication history taking whilst the major challenge was difficulty in determining the expiry dates of PODs without original packages. Conclusion: About a half of patients with chronic diseases brought PODs with them on admission. The majority of PODs appeared to be suitable for use as presented but only a few were actually used for the patients. Most pharmacy staff were not involved in patients own drugs management at the hospital. There is the need for a policy to streamline PODs management in the teaching hospital.

BMC public health, Jan 23, 2017

Antibiotics have played an essential role in decreasing morbidity and mortality from infectious d... more Antibiotics have played an essential role in decreasing morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. However, indiscriminate use and unrestricted access is contributing to the emergence of bacterial resistance. This paper reports on a situational analysis of antimicrobial use and resistance in Ghana, with focus on policy and regulation. Relevant policy documents, reports, regulations and enactments were reviewed. PubMed and Google search engines were used to extract relevant published papers. Websites of stakeholders such as Ministry of Health (MOH) and its agencies were also reviewed. An interview guide was used to elicit responses from selected officials from these sectors. Laws and guidelines to control the use of antimicrobials in humans were available but not for animals. There was no National Antimicrobial Policy (NAP). A health practice regulatory law mandates Physicians, Physician Assistants, Midwives and trained Nurses to prescribe antimicrobials. However, antibiotics ...

Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2017

Asthma as a chronic health condition can be controlled when in addition to clinical care, adequat... more Asthma as a chronic health condition can be controlled when in addition to clinical care, adequate education and support is provided to enhance self-management. Like many other chronic health conditions improved self-management positively impacts the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). It can therefore be said that a well-structured pharmaceutical care delivery that addresses the issues related to patient education and support towards self-management stands a good chance of positively impacting asthma control. This study evaluated the impact of a structured pharmaceutical care delivery on asthma control. A prospective pre-/post- intervention study of a single cohort of 77 adult out-patients visiting specialist asthma clinics in Ghana were assessed for HRQoL and peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) one month after pharmaceutical care intervention. Pharmaceutical care intervention covered education on the health condition, pharmacotherapy and self-management issues as well as correct...

Safety in Health, 2016

Background: Errors occur frequently in the use of medicines. Pharmacists play a key role in error... more Background: Errors occur frequently in the use of medicines. Pharmacists play a key role in error identification and make appropriate interventions as they work with other healthcare professionals. These error recovery roles of pharmacists contribute to patient safety. This study was to evaluate the clinical interventions made to drug-related problems at a tertiary care setting. Method: This involved a retrospective review of clinical intervention reports submitted by pharmacists working over the period January 2011 to December 2013. Results: The 24 pharmacists submitted 529 handwritten reports; of these, 448 reports had complete data. The most frequently reported drugs with error were warfarin (9.5%), potassium chloride (6.0%) and potassium citrate (5.5%). The pharmacists made 1019 clinical interventions and recommendations. The average intervention per report was 2.5 (S.D ± 0.67). The interventions and recommendations made were categorised as drug regimen change (76.1%), monitoring required (13.0%), communication (5.4%), counselling required (5.0%) and adverse drug reporting (0.6%). Majority (90.5%) of the recommendations and interventions made by pharmacists were accepted and implemented. Monitoring-required based interventions were significantly more likely to be accepted (130 vs 38; p <0.0001). Conclusion: Pharmacists played a role in drug error recovery and prevented medication errors from reaching patients. These error mitigation efforts of pharmacists can serve as a priority in patient safety strategy.

Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice, 2016

Malaria remains an important public health challenge worldwide, particularly in Sub-Saharan Afric... more Malaria remains an important public health challenge worldwide, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. [1] It presents a huge economic burden on society, especially in developing countries where accessibility to effective malaria diagnosis is limited. Among the numerous presentations of malaria, fever is the most common. Although innovative methods have been used to increase access to the most effective antimalarial drugs in the recent past,

BMC Health Services Research, 2015

Background: Pharmacist involvement in the prevention of medication errors is well documented. One... more Background: Pharmacist involvement in the prevention of medication errors is well documented. One such method, the process by which hospital pharmacists undertake these clinical interventions needs to be described and documented. The perceived barriers to pharmacists succeeding in getting their recommendations accepted could inform future safety strategy development. This study was therefore to trace the typical process involved and explore the perceived barriers to pharmacists' medication safety efforts. Methods: This study involved a retrospective evaluation of routine clinical interventions collected at a tertiary hospital in Ghana over 23 months. A sample of pharmacists who had submitted these reports were then interviewed. Results: The interventions made related to drug therapy changes (76.0 %), monitoring (13.0 %), communication (5.4 %), counselling (5.0 %) and adverse drug events (0.6 %). More than 90 % of interventions were accepted. The results also showed that undertaking clinical interventions by pharmacists followed a sequential order with two interlinked subprocesses: Problem Identification and Problem Handling. In identifying the problem, as much information needed to be gathered, clinical issues identified and then the problems prioritised. During the problem handling stage, detailed assessment was made which led to the development of a pharmaceutical plan. The plan was then implemented and monitored to ensure appropriateness of desired outcomes. The main barrier mentioned by pharmacist related to the discrepant attitudes of doctors/nurses. The other barriers encountered during these tasks related to workload, and inadequate clinical knowledge. The attitudes were characterised by conflicts and egos resulting from differences in status/authority, responsibilities, and training. Conclusions: Though the majority of recommendations from pharmacists were accepted, the main barrier to hospital pharmacist engagement in medication error prevention activities related to discrepant attitudes of doctors and nurses. Proper initiation and maintenance of collaborative working relationship in hospitals is desired between the healthcare team members to benefit from the medication safety services of hospital pharmacists.

Unregistered sex enhancing drugs have flooded most cities in Ghana and are highly patronized by t... more Unregistered sex enhancing drugs have flooded most cities in Ghana and are highly patronized by the populace.This study aims atestablishing the use of these drugs in a socially and commercially active community in Kumasi, Ghana.Questionnaireson the subject were administered to 224 individuals and data obtained analyzed using SPSS 17.Results revealed that73 (61 %) males and 48 (46 %) females were using these drugs; 72 (59.5 %) being above 36 years. Premature ejaculation in males (53 %) and decreased libido in females (47 %) were the main reasons for their use. Sixty three (86%) malesand 44 (91%) femalesclaimed effectiveness. Forty one (56 %) males and 33 (69 %) females reported headache after use. All participants who were diabetic 16 (7.1 %) and hypertensive diabetic 9 (4 %), and 83.3 % of those who are hypertensive 12 (5.4 %)were users.Prior to their use of sex enhancing drugs 50 (41 %) were in a psychological state of fear of sexual failure during intercourse and 30 (25 %) have ne...

This study was carried out to assess H1N1 vaccination in the Kumasi metropolis of the Ashanti Reg... more This study was carried out to assess H1N1 vaccination in the Kumasi metropolis of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Questionnaires on the subject were administered to 504 individuals compris-ing of 254 health personnel and 250 from the general public (in a cross-sectional survey) after an initial interview of 1,686 individuals. Data obtained was analyzed using Sigma Plot 11. Three sixty four (72.2 %), and 390 (77.4 %) of the study participants responded that education on H1N1 flu and the side effects of the vaccine respectively were not extensive. Prior to the vaccina-tion, 310 (61.5 %) of respondents were not interviewed on their health status. Three hundred and seventy eight (75.2 %) respondents suffered some side effects after vaccination. Of those, 363 (96 %) suffered side effects lasting up to a week. Due to the severity of the side effects, 154 (40.7 %) took medications after the vaccination to ameliorate the effect. Of all those who experienced adverse effects, only 105 (28 %) rep...

Background: Non-adherence to therapy is a major reason for the low control rate of hypertension i... more Background: Non-adherence to therapy is a major reason for the low control rate of hypertension in Ghana today. Sustained release (SR) antihypertensive preparations are useful in promoting adherence to therapy because of the reduced daily dosing frequency, stable drug levels and reduced toxicity which enhances compliance. One major concern about SR antihypertensives is whether they can be substituted with one another to produce the same effect. Objectives: This study sought to determine the preferences of physicians and patients for various SR antihypertensive medications in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. The views of the respondents on whether the brands of the most used SR antihypertensive were therapeutically equivalent and interchangeable were ascertained. Methods: Seventy-three (73) community pharmacies, 66 doctors and 150 patients in 50 public, private and mission hospitals and clinics within the Kumasi metropolis were purposively sampled. Respondents were interviewed via int...

Journal of Patient Safety, 2016

This study determined the incidence, types, clinical significance, and potential causes of medica... more This study determined the incidence, types, clinical significance, and potential causes of medication administration errors (MAEs) at the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary health care facility in Ghana. This study used a cross-sectional nonparticipant observational technique. Study participants (nurses) were observed preparing and administering medication at the ED of a 2000-bed tertiary care hospital in Accra, Ghana. The observations were then compared with patients&amp;#39; medication charts, and identified errors were clarified with staff for possible causes. Of the 1332 observations made, involving 338 patients and 49 nurses, 362 had errors, representing 27.2%. However, the error rate excluding &amp;quot;lack of drug availability&amp;quot; fell to 12.8%. Without wrong time error, the error rate was 22.8%. The 2 most frequent error types were omission (n = 281, 77.6%) and wrong time (n = 58, 16%) errors. Omission error was mainly due to unavailability of medicine, 48.9% (n = 177). Although only one of the errors was potentially fatal, 26.7% were definitely clinically severe. The common themes that dominated the probable causes of MAEs were unavailability, staff factors, patient factors, prescription, and communication problems. This study gives credence to similar studies in different settings that MAEs occur frequently in the ED of hospitals. Most of the errors identified were not potentially fatal; however, preventive strategies need to be used to make life-saving processes such as drug administration in such specialized units error-free.