Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana

The quality of 68 samples of 15 different essential children’s medicines sold in licensed medicine outlets in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, was evaluated. Thirty-two (47.1%) of the medicines were imported, mainly from India (65.6%) and the United Kingdom (28.1%), while 36 (52.9%) were locally manufactu...

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Main Authors: Grace Frimpong, Kwabena Ofori-Kwakye, Noble Kuntworbe, Kwame Ohene Buabeng, Yaa Asantewaa Osei, Mariam El Boakye-Gyasi, Ofosua Adi-Dako
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Journal of Tropical Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/1494957
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author Grace Frimpong
Kwabena Ofori-Kwakye
Noble Kuntworbe
Kwame Ohene Buabeng
Yaa Asantewaa Osei
Mariam El Boakye-Gyasi
Ofosua Adi-Dako
author_facet Grace Frimpong
Kwabena Ofori-Kwakye
Noble Kuntworbe
Kwame Ohene Buabeng
Yaa Asantewaa Osei
Mariam El Boakye-Gyasi
Ofosua Adi-Dako
author_sort Grace Frimpong
collection DOAJ
description The quality of 68 samples of 15 different essential children’s medicines sold in licensed medicine outlets in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, was evaluated. Thirty-two (47.1%) of the medicines were imported, mainly from India (65.6%) and the United Kingdom (28.1%), while 36 (52.9%) were locally manufactured. The quality of the medicines was assessed using content of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), pH, and microbial limit tests, and the results were compared with pharmacopoeial standards. Twenty-six (38.2%) of the samples studied passed the official content of API test while 42 (61.8%) failed. Forty-nine (72.1%) of the samples were compliant with official specifications for pH while 19 (27.9%) were noncompliant. Sixty-six (97.1%) samples passed the microbial load and content test while 2 (2.9%) failed. Eighteen (26.5%) samples passed all the three quality evaluation tests, while one (1.5%) sample (CFX1) failed all the tests. All the amoxicillin suspensions tested passed the three evaluation tests. All the ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, flucloxacillin, artemether-lumefantrine, multivitamin, and folic acid samples failed the content of API test and are substandard. The overall API failure rate for imported products (59.4%) was comparable to locally manufactured (63.9%) samples. The results highlight the poor quality of the children’s medicines studied and underscore the need for regular pharmacovigilance and surveillance systems to fight this menace.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1687-9686
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language English
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Wiley
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spelling doaj-art-86c389a59b1f48ab9a48bcb1f9742b2a2025-02-03T00:59:15ZengWileyJournal of Tropical Medicine1687-96861687-96942018-01-01201810.1155/2018/14949571494957Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, GhanaGrace Frimpong0Kwabena Ofori-Kwakye1Noble Kuntworbe2Kwame Ohene Buabeng3Yaa Asantewaa Osei4Mariam El Boakye-Gyasi5Ofosua Adi-Dako6Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Microbiology, University of Ghana School of Pharmacy, Legon, Accra, GhanaThe quality of 68 samples of 15 different essential children’s medicines sold in licensed medicine outlets in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, was evaluated. Thirty-two (47.1%) of the medicines were imported, mainly from India (65.6%) and the United Kingdom (28.1%), while 36 (52.9%) were locally manufactured. The quality of the medicines was assessed using content of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), pH, and microbial limit tests, and the results were compared with pharmacopoeial standards. Twenty-six (38.2%) of the samples studied passed the official content of API test while 42 (61.8%) failed. Forty-nine (72.1%) of the samples were compliant with official specifications for pH while 19 (27.9%) were noncompliant. Sixty-six (97.1%) samples passed the microbial load and content test while 2 (2.9%) failed. Eighteen (26.5%) samples passed all the three quality evaluation tests, while one (1.5%) sample (CFX1) failed all the tests. All the amoxicillin suspensions tested passed the three evaluation tests. All the ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, flucloxacillin, artemether-lumefantrine, multivitamin, and folic acid samples failed the content of API test and are substandard. The overall API failure rate for imported products (59.4%) was comparable to locally manufactured (63.9%) samples. The results highlight the poor quality of the children’s medicines studied and underscore the need for regular pharmacovigilance and surveillance systems to fight this menace.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/1494957
spellingShingle Grace Frimpong
Kwabena Ofori-Kwakye
Noble Kuntworbe
Kwame Ohene Buabeng
Yaa Asantewaa Osei
Mariam El Boakye-Gyasi
Ofosua Adi-Dako
Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
Journal of Tropical Medicine
title Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
title_full Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
title_fullStr Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
title_short Quality Assessment of Some Essential Children’s Medicines Sold in Licensed Outlets in Ashanti Region, Ghana
title_sort quality assessment of some essential children s medicines sold in licensed outlets in ashanti region ghana
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/1494957
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