Improving anticoagulation in sub-Saharan Africa: What are the challenges and how can we overcome them?



Mouton, Johannes P, Blockman, Marc, Sekaggya-Wiltshire, Christine, Semakula, Jerome, Waitt, Catriona ORCID: 0000-0003-0134-5855, Pirmohamed, Munir ORCID: 0000-0002-7534-7266 and Cohen, Karen
(2021) Improving anticoagulation in sub-Saharan Africa: What are the challenges and how can we overcome them? BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, 87 (8). pp. 3056-3068.

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Abstract

Patients in sub-Saharan Africa generally have poor anticoagulation control. We review the potential reasons for this poor control, as well as the potential solutions. Challenges include the affordability and centralisation of anticoagulation care, problems with access to medicines and international normalised ratio monitoring, the lack of locally validated standardized dosing protocols, and low levels of anticoagulation knowledge among healthcare workers and patients. Increasing numbers of patients will need anticoagulation in the future because of the increasing burden of noncommunicable disease in the region. We propose that locally developed "warfarin care bundles" which address multiple anticoagulation challenges in combination may be the most appropriate solution in this setting currently.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: anticoagulants, cardiovascular disease, drug utilization, medication safety
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 07 Jul 2021 10:28
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 21:36
DOI: 10.1111/bcp.14768
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/bcp.14768
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3129134