Methods: A qualitative design was conducted on community pharmacists in Baghdad, Iraq. Pharmacists were selected conveniently from different gender, age group, pharmacy type and years of experience. Face-to-face semi-structure interview was used with all the pharmacists to get in-depth understanding about their dispensing practice of antibiotics without prescription in community pharmacy. The data was coded and classified for thematic analysis.
Results: This study found that dispensing of antibiotics without prescription was a common practice in community pharmacy. Pharmacists' perception towards dispensing antibiotics without prescription was associated with the medical condition, safety and efficacy of antibiotics, patients request antibiotics by name, emergency cases, regular customer, promotions from pharmaceutical companies, saving time and cost, brand medications, and poor healthcare services. In addition, there were inadequate knowledge about antibiotic resistance and lack of awareness about antibiotic stewardship leading to inappropriate dispensing practice.
Conclusions: Community pharmacists have poor perception towards dispensing antibiotics without prescription. Educational interventions about antibiotics use focusing on community pharmacists are needed. This will help to optimize the practice of dispensing of antibiotics in the community. In addition, training programs about antibiotic resistance are important to enhance pharmacists' understanding about antibiotic stewardship.
METHODS: A qualitative approach using focus group discussions was conducted to get in-depth information about medicines use pattern and practice from the general public. Adult people who reported using medicines at the time of study or in the previous month were approached. Two focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The obtained data were analysed using thematic content analysis.
RESULTS: This study found that there are some misunderstanding about the appropriate use of medicines. The majority of the participants reported that they were complying with their medication regimen. However, forgetting to take medicines was stated by 4 participants while 2 participants stopped taking medicines when they felt better. In addition, 10 participants reporting using medicines according to their own knowledge and past experience. Whereas 4 participants took medicines according to other informal resources such as family, friends or the media. Seven participants have experienced side effects with using medicines, 4 of them informed their doctor while 3 participants stopped taking medicines without informing their doctor.
CONCLUSION: There was a misunderstanding about medicines use in terms of medication compliance, self-management of the illness and the resources of information about using medicines. Many efforts are still needed from health care professionals to provide sufficient information about medicines use in order to decrease the risk of inappropriate use of medicines and to achieve better therapeutic outcome.
OBJECTIVE: (1) to evaluate the parents' medical knowledge about OTC medicines which are usually used by the parents to treat their children and (2) to evaluate the parents' management in dealing with their children's ailments, and (3) to evaluate the association between medical knowledge and the management of children's ailments related to medicine use among the parents.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to measure the parents' knowledge about their children's ailments. Subjects were selected and information was obtained in September 2008. Non-probability convenient sampling method was used. Parents were recruited from the general public to answer the questionnaires.
RESULTS: 197 parents filled in the questionnaires. From the total respondents, 48.2% of them were male. This study showed that most respondents have medium knowledge (6.11 SD=3.6) and a moderate management (4.39 SD=2.7). The results showed that there is a significant difference between the knowledge and the management level of ailments (P=0.033). Regarding the education level of the parents and the socioeconomic status, the p-value showed there was a significant difference between parents' knowledge and their education level (P=0.012).
CONCLUSION: This study showed that parents have inadequate knowledge and some misconception about how to go about treating their children when they are unwell. It is hoped that by identifying weak areas in parents' management to their children's ailments, better planned educational and behavioral modification efforts can be made to elevate the knowledge level among the parents when they medically treat their children.
AIMS: To investigate the effect of intraperitoneal administration of ondansetron for postoperative pain management as an adjuvant to intravenous acetaminophen in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
METHODS: Patients scheduled for elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy were randomized into two groups (n = 25 each) to receive either intraperitoneal ondansetron or saline injected in the gall bladder bed at the end of the procedure. The primary outcome was the difference in pain from baseline to 24-h post-operative assessed by comparing the area under the curve of visual analog score between the two groups.
RESULTS: The derived area under response curve of visual analog scores in the ondansetron group (735.8 ± 418.3) was 33.97% lower than (p = 0.005) that calculated for the control group (1114.4 ± 423.9). The need for rescue analgesia was significantly lower in the ondansetron (16%) versus in the control group (54.17%) (p = 0.005), indicating better pain control. The correlation between the time for unassisted mobilization and the area under response curve of visual analog scores signified the positive analgesic influence of ondansetron (rs =0.315, p = 0.028). The frequency of nausea and vomiting was significantly lower in patients who received ondansetron than that reported in the control group (p = 0.023 (8 h), and 0.016 (24 h) respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: The added positive impact of ondansetron on postoperative pain control alongside its anti-emetic effect made it a unique novel option for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
METHOD AND RESULTS: The insecticide resistance status of Aedes populations collected from 24 dengue hotspot areas from the period of December 2018 until June 2019 was proactively monitored using the World Health Organization standard protocol for adult and larval susceptibility testing was conducted, together with elucidation of the mechanisms involved in observed resistance. For resistance monitoring, susceptibility to three adulticides (permethrin, deltamethrin, and malathion) was tested, as well as susceptibility to the larvicide, temephos. Data showed significant resistance to both deltamethrin and permethrin (pyrethroid insecticides), and to malathion (organophosphate insecticide) in all sampled Aedes aegypti populations, while variable resistance patterns were found in the sampled Aedes albopictus populations. Temephos resistance was observed when larvae were tested using the diagnostic dosage of 0.012mg/L but not at the operational dosage of 1mg/L for both species.
CONCLUSION: The present study highlights evidence of a potential threat to the effectiveness of insecticides currently used in dengue vector control, and the urgent requirement for insecticide resistance management to be integrated into the National Dengue Control Program.