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Malaria and Pneumonia Better Controlled When Treatment is Community-Based
Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health said that anti-malarial drugs are being used inappropriately for sick children in with fevers and difficulty breathing but it can be addressed by arming community health workers with a simple rapid-diagnostic test and a supply of antibiotics.
The research team from the Center for Global Health and Development at BUSPH addressed the widespread practice of treating children with fevers with anti-malarial drugs, rather than screening them first for malaria or pneumonia.
The researchers found that allowing community health workers to use a diagnostic test for malaria, before prescribing treatment, "resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of appropriately timed antibiotic treatments for non-severe pneumonia, and in a significant decrease in inappropriate use of anti-malarials."
The health workers were trained to give amoxicillin to children with suspected pneumonia.
"This study has demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of using [community health workers] to provide integrated management of pneumonia and malaria at the community level," wrote the author.
The research team, led by Kojo Yeboah-Antwi of BUSPH, studied treatment outcomes for more than 3,000 children, ages 6 months to 5 years, who presented with fevers, and in some cases fast respiratory rates, at community health posts.
The children were randomized into two groups-an intervention group, in which health workers used the rapid diagnostic tests and doses of amoxicillin; and a control group, in which the workers gave children anti-malarial drugs or referred those with suspected pneumonia to health facilities.
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More News on: Hib Vaccine, Malaria-water, Malaria, Mosquito Diseases, Pneumonia, Q Fever, Silicosis, Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Fever, Cough Symptom Evaluation
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