Faculty of Medicine, University of Geizera, Medani, Sudan.

Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Geizera, Medani, Sudan.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
Malaria ,Pregnancy ,Quinine ,Sudan ,

Pregnant women are more susceptible to malaria which can lead to maternal and perinatal adverse effects. Therefore, prompt and effective case management is one of the control measures for malaria during pregnancy. The objective of this work was to investigate the treatment patterns of malaria during pregnancy at Medani Maternity Hospital, Central Sudan during the period of January through December 2012. A descriptive study was conducted where medical files of the women admitted to the maternity wards were retrospectively reviewed. History of occurrence and treatment practices of malaria during pregnancy/postpartum were obtained from the women's medical case files using a pre -developed data collection form. Out of 8496 total admissions, 1416 (16.7%) women were admitted as having malaria and all of them received quinine infusion. The vast majority (1287; 90.9%) of these women with malaria were referred from other clinics/hospitals and already they had blood film parasite-based diagnosis. Only 54 (3.8) cases of the malaria fulfilled the WHO (2000) criteria for severe malaria. Out of these 1416 women 86 (6.1%) and 62(4.4%) received quinine in first trimester (in the first 14 weeks) and postpartum, respectively. In this setting inappropriate antimalarials drug management of malaria during pregnancy was observed. Addressing these observed deficiencies by training is necessary in order to achieve success in the control of malaria during pregnancy in Sudan.

4 , 3 , 2014