Antiepileptic therapies in the Mifi province in Cameroon

Purpose: To evaluate the availability and accessibility of antiepileptic dr ugs (AEDs) in two health districts in Cameroon. Methods: The study included 33 patients with epilepsy, 26 physicians, 13 pr ivate pharmacists, eight hospital pharmacists, three distributors, and eigh t traditional healers. Structured questionnaires were used to assess the kn owledge of the disease, treatment accessibility, the methods of prescriptio ns, and the availability and the frequency of delivery of drugs. Results: Only one of 33 patients did not take modern treatment; 91% of the patients were followed up by a traditional healer, and 78%, by an hospital physician. Phenobarbitone (PB) was the most frequently prescribed drug by 6 9% of the doctors; 54% of the physicians considered the traditional therapi es to be incompatible with modern drug treatment. By pharmacists, PB was de livered regularly. Other drugs went out of stock frequently. The number of packages in stock varied significantly directly with the frequency of deliv ery. The mean price per package and the mean number of packages in stock we re higher in the public hospital pharmacies than in the private pharmacies. A majority of healers explained epilepsy as the presence of excess foam in the abdomen. The remedies proposed were to stop foam secretion. Conclusions: Availability of AEDs was quite high, but with no strict corres pondence between the rate of prescriptions and the supply of the drugs.