Prescriber's Guidance Points

Clinical Description

• These are given for most standard treatment and are key points to be considered before prescribing for a patient with a particular condition.
• Certain points as well as warnings are given added emphasis by inclusion in a boxed bolder.

MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION

• Unless otherwise specified, the oral route is to be used. Even when a parental route is specified, with medicines which are well absorbed orally, and which are available as an oral dosage-form, it is often possible to switch to oral administration once the patient has improved and is able to swallow/tolerate oral medication.
• Additional guidance on medicine administration is given, where relevant, as bulleted points after dosage regimen.

MEDICINE NAMES

• Medicines recommended for use are those on the current Malawi Essential

Medicine list, 2022. Generic names are used and indicated in bold type. Where necessary, proprietary names are indicated in italic type.

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES

• They should be used only when the recommended medicine is not available or is not suitable for a particular condition.
• In some cases (where indicated) alternative (2nd line) medicines may be used when a satisfactory response has not been obtained with the recommended 1st line medicination.

ABBREVIATIONS

ARI Acute Respiratory Infections

ART Anti-Retroviral Therapy

BF Blood Film examination

BP Blood Pressure

COC Combined Oral Contraceptive

CSF Cerebrospinal Fluid

CVA Cerebrovascular Accident

CXR Chest X-ray

DIC Disseminated Intravascular coagulopathy

DNS Dextrose Normal Saline

FBC Full blood count

FFP Fresh Frozen Plasma g gram

Hb haemoglobin

HIV Human immunodeficiency Virus

IM Intramuscular

IV Intravenous

IU International units

JVP Jugular venous pressure

Kg Kilogram l litre lP lumbar puncture lRTI lower Respiratory Tract Infection mg milligram ml millilitre mmol millimole

MU mega (1 million) units

NGT nasogastric tube

PCV packed cell volume s/c subcutaneous

STI sexually transmitted infections

TB Tuberculosis

TTP Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

URTI upper respiratory tract infection

METRIC UNITS 1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (g) 1 g = 1,000 milligrams (mg) 1 mg = 1,000 micrograms 1 litre (l) = 1,000 millilitres 1 ml of water = 1 g 1% (m/v) = 10 mg/ml

EQUIVALENTS 1 litre = 1.8 pints 1pint = 568.3 ml 1 kg = 2.2 pounds 1 lb = 453.4 g1 ounce (oz) = 28.35 g