PATHOLOGIES OF THE ELDERLY AND PHARMACOTHERAPY IN THE HEALTH AREA OF BIWONG-BANE, SOUTH CAMEROON

Vanina Doris Edo’o; Thérèse Mbezele Essomba; Marie Josiane Ntsama Essomba; Haamit Mahammat Abba Kabir; Emmanuel Nnanga Nga; Marie-José Essi

doi:10.22270/ujpr.v6i2.565

Vanina Doris Edo’o Department of public health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon. Laboratory of Research in Anthropology and social Medicine, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Thérèse Mbezele Essomba Department of public health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon. Laboratory of Research in Anthropology and social Medicine, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Marie Josiane Ntsama Essomba Geriatric Unit, Central Hospital of Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Haamit Mahammat Abba Kabir Department of public health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Emmanuel Nnanga Nga Department of Galenic Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Legislation, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Marie-José Essi Department of public health, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon. Laboratory of Research in Anthropology and social Medicine, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.

10.22270/ujpr.v6i2.565

Keywords:

elderly patient, pathologies of the third age, pharmacotherapy, South Cameroon

Abstract

Objectives: The specific characteristics of the elderly physiopathology, such as polypathology and polypharmacy, arouse interest in the quality of the care offered to this age group. The study aimed to analyse the gap between the pathological and therapeutic profiles at the local level in Cameroon.

Method: This was a six-month cross-sectional situational analysis at the Biwong-Bane District Medical Centre in the South region of Cameroon. Pathological data were collected from the consultation register, and those related to therapeutics were taken from the drug inventory lists for the period of July 2019 to July 2020, using two separate reading grids. The 20th version of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used for the analysis of the data set.

Results: For a total of 103 patient files, the mean age was 68.6±7.7 years with a sex ratio of 0.75. 21.7% of the population was aged ≥ 75 years. The main pathology groups were infectious diseases (40%) and diseases of the osteoarticular system (16.4%). Out the 140 occurrences counted, malaria, typhoid fever and high blood pressure were the most common at 26, 12 and 7 respectively. Polypathologies represented 28.2% of the sample. With regard to therapeutics, there was a concordance between prescriptions and available drugs, although stock-outs persisted, as with artesunate (10 months) and mineral supplements (6 months). Finally, the average number of active molecules administered per elderly person ≥75 years was 3.47.

Conclusion: The pharmacotherapy provided to the Third age remains poorly adapted, mainly due to the unavailability of drugs specific to the needs of this population.