Care and maintenance of ocular diagnostic drugs in eye care facilities in 'Ghana'

Abstract

Background: Diagnostic ophthalmic drugs are very essential in every eye care setting. Contamination of these drugs has a deleterious effect on the eye as they can trigger or worsen a pre-existing ocular disease. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate how ocular diagnostic drugs are cared for and maintained by eye care practitioners. Methods: A total of 140 eye care practitioners across the ten regions of Ghana responded and returned the questionnaires. It contained questions on how frequently they checked date of expiry, first date of opening the diagnostic drug bottle, how long the opened diagnostic drug bottles were kept in use before discarding them, adherence to hand hygiene practices prior to instillation of drops among others. Some 20 of the 60 eye care facilities (from which the participants were drawn) were purposively selected and observed for their adherence to care and maintenance practices with regarding the use of diagnostic agents in a blinded fashion (the practitioners did not know they were they were being observed). Results: It was realised that most of the practitioners did not adhere strictly to basic care and maintenance (as indicated in the drug insert and the British Pharmaceutical Codex) practices necessary to ensure optimal safety of patients. Conclusion: Care and maintenance practices were not always adhered to by most of the eye care practitioners despite its implication for patients' safety.