Identifying malaria control issues: a district hospital-based evaluation

Chuk district hospital is centrally located in a rural malarious region in southern Cambodia. It was the site of a hospital-based evaluation (KAP assessment and in vivo i.v. quinine/oral tetracycline drug study) done to identify relevant issues for establishing a rational malaria control strategy. The KAP assessment identified the young, male forest worker as the highest risk group. Of 112 study patients, 73% were male and 82% reported various forest activities. The primary reason found for patient delay (8.9 days) in seeking hospital care was self-treatment at home (N = 102, 91%) with drugs purchased through private sellers (104/105). Using the 7-day WHO field test methodology, resistance rates were calculated (N = 22); S1/R1, 73%; R1, 9%; R2, 0%; R3, 18%. A modified version of the 7-day test was used to calculate its utility in this particular rural setting. It showed a negative predictive value of 93% and a positive predictive value of 71%. The case fatality rate for the study period was 2.7%. Information from this study, which correlates a confirmed malaria diagnosis with prior patient behavior and response to anti-malarial therapy, is intended for realizing the goals set forth by the national malaria control program.