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<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Background</p><p>As the burden of non-communicable diseases grows,
access safe to medical therapy is increasing in importance. The aim of this study
was to develop a methodology for establishing the prevalence of the quality of anti-hypertensive
drugs and to examine whether this prevalence varies by socio-economic variables.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Through
a cross-sectional survey study design, 6 local government areas(LGA) in Lagos State,Nigeria
were sampled. A list of all registered pharmacies in the state, derived from the Pharmacists
Council of Nigeria, was used in the sampling process. A mystery shopper randomly purchased
102 samples (14 brands) of the antihypertensive nifedipine from 17 pharmacies in each
of the six LGA in Lagos State. Definitive drug quality was assessed through High-Performance
Lipid Chromatography (HPLC). The quality assessment comprised two main domains; the
level of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) was used to identify falsely labelled
drugs whereas the amounts of impurities revealed substandard drug samples. Good quality
drugs met specifications for both the API and impurities.</p><p>Results</p><p>Seventy-eight
(76%) drug samples did not meet both quality standards. Of the 30 falsely labelled
drugs,17(56.67%) emanated from LGA categorized as low social economic status or hard-to-reach,
18( 60%) were manufactured in Asia and had a price average of 375.67 Nigerian Naira(NGN).Seventy
six(74.51%) drug samples were substandard with 40(52.63%) drug samples emanating from
high social economic status LGA,37(48.68%) were manufactured in Asia and had a price
average of 383.33 NGN.</p><p>Of the 102 samples collected, 24 (23.53%) complied with
both tolerance limits; 72 (70.59%) met the active pharmaceutical ingredient standards;
and 26 (25.49%) met the drug purity standards. Most of the good quality drug samples,
14(58.33%),were from low social economic status LGA,15 (62.5%) were manufactured in
Asia and had a price average of 375.67 NGN.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>We found a high
prevalence of falsely labeled and substandard drug samples with only 24(23.53%) having
good quality. To treat non-communicable diseases, we need efforts to monitor and assure
drug quality for populations.</p>
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