Tolerability and adherence to mefloquine among Jordanian troops serving in Kinshasa

Abstract EN

Objectives : To assess adherence, investigate reasons for non-adherence and describe tolerability of Mefloquine among Jordanian military personnel, who served in level II military hospital in Kinshasa for a six months period.

Method : In 2011, 56 male military personnel agreed to complete an anonymous questionnaire which checked the degree of adherence, reasons for non-adherence, and both the frequency and severity of Mefloquine side effects.

Participants were also asked if they received counselling about malaria and Mefloquine prior to departure.

All participants were interviewed face-to-face to further investigate their experiences with Mefloquine.

The Mefloquine weekly dosage was dispensed from the pharmacy to the public health inspector every Tuesday and then to the participants after lunch on that day.

Results : Thirty six participants (64.4 %) took all doses.

Fourteen participants (25 %) skipped some doses, mostly due to forgetting (50 %).

Other reasons were travelling (14.2 %), side effects (14.2 %), acute disease (14.2 %), and being careless (7.1 %).

Number of skipped doses varied between one and five from the 29 doses given.

One participant (1.8 %) took no Mefloquine at all due to previous side effects of the drug.

Five participants (8.9 %) permanently stopped using Mefloquine, four due to side effects and one due carelessness.

Thirty two (57.1 %) participants complained of side effects, the most common being: nightmares (16.7 %), insomnia (15 %), headache (13.3 %), anxiety (11.7 %), and diarrhoea (9.2 %).

Most of participants (93.8 %) classified their side effects as being mild to moderate.

Only 14 participants (25 %) reported that they received counselling about malaria and Mefloquine.

Conclusion : The high adherence rate in this study reflects the method of dispensing Mefloquine which was used.

Reasons for non-adherence should always be investigated in order to find solutions that will further enhance adherence.

Although more than half of participants reported at least one side effect, Mefloquine was tolerated by the majority of participants over the study period.

Education about malaria and Mefloquine is essential for both health care professionals and users.