Folic acid prescription practice for high-risk prevention of spina bifida at a tertiary care hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Bethelehem Yesehak, Amanda Dorsey, Kibruyisfaw Zewdie and 2 others
PMID 38108364WHAT IT FOUND
Sixty-eight percent of mothers at an Ethiopian spina bifida center received a folic acid prescription for recurrence prevention.
Most received only one prescription lasting four months, and adherence or refill rates were not tracked.
Key findings
01340 of 500 mothers received a 5 mg/day folic acid prescription for 120 days.
0294% of the mothers who received a prescription had documentation of only one prescription, sufficient for approximately four months.
03The study measured prescription administration but did not capture whether prescriptions were filled or if mothers adhered to the regimen.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study only tracked prescriptions given, not whether mothers filled them or took the pills. Data was limited to mothers who visited this specific hospital, excluding those who did not have access to care or had elective terminations. The database could not link siblings, so researchers could not see if subsequent pregnancies were affected.
Declared interests
The database was made available with the help of ReachAnother Foundation, a non-profit organization. The study does not report commercial funding or author financial conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that receiving a prescription means the mother took the folic acid. The study only recorded that prescriptions were given, not that they were filled or adhered to, and most mothers received only a four-month supply.