Characterizing Medicine Quality by Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis across Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

ABSTRACT: Substandard and falsified medicines are often reported jointly, making it difficult to recognize variations in medicine quality. This study characterized medicine quality based on active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) amounts reported among substandard and falsified essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using PubMed, supplemented by results from a previous systematic review, and the Medicine Quality Scientific Literature Surveyor. Study quality was assessed using the Medicine Quality Assessment Reporting Guidelines (MEDQUARG). Random-effects models were used to estimate the prevalence of medicines with < 50% API. Among 95,520 medicine samples from 130 studies, 12.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.2-14.6%) of

SUBMITTER: Ozawa S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9209904 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature