Intermittent preventive treatment comparing two versus three doses of sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in the prevention of anaemia in pregnancy in Ghana: A cross sectional study
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLOS ONE
Abstract
In 2012 the World Health Organisation (WHO) revised the policy on Intermittent Preventive
Treatment with Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) to at least three doses for improved
protection against malaria parasitaemia and its associated effects such as anaemia during
pregnancy. We assessed the different SP dosage regimen available under the new policy to
determine the dose at which women obtained optimal protection against anaemia during
pregnancy. A cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women who attended
antenatal clinic at four different health facilities in Ghana. The register at the facilities served
as a sampling frame and simple random sampling was used to select all the study respon dents;
they were enrolled consecutively as they kept reporting to the facility to receive ante natal care to
obtain the required sample size. The haemoglobin level was checked using the
Cyanmethemoglobin method. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to generate
odds ratios, confidence intervals and p-values. The overall prevalence of anaemia among
the pregnant women was 62.6%. Pregnant women who had taken 3 or more doses of IPTp SP had
anaemia prevalence of 54.1% compared to 66.6% of those who had taken one or two doses IPTp-SP.
In the multivariable logistic model, primary (aOR 0.61; p = 0.03) and ter tiary education
(aOR 0.40; p = <0.001) decreased the odds of anaemia in pregnancy. Fur ther, pregnant women who
were anaemic at the time of enrollment (aOR 3.32; p = <0.001)
to the Antenatal Care clinic and had malaria infection at late gestation (aOR 2.36; p =
<0.001) had higher odds of anaemia in pregnancy. Anaemia in pregnancy remains high in
the Northern region of Ghana. More than half of the pregnant women were anaemic despite
the use of IPTp-SP. Maternal formal education reduced the burden of anaemia in preg nancy. The
high prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy amid IPTp-SP use in Northern Ghana
needs urgent attention to avert negative maternal and neonatal health outcomes.
Description
This article is published by Plos One and is also at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250350
Keywords
Citation
Agyeman YN, Newton S, Annor RB, Owusu-Dabo E (2021) Intermittent preventive treatment comparing two versus three doses of sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in the prevention of anaemia in pregnancy in Ghana: A cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE 16(4): e0250350