Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 9 Articles
Eisenmenger syndrome is a chronic condition characterized by advanced pulmonary hypertension associated with congenital heart disease. Cyanotic system like bluish or grayish coloration of skin can be observed in the patients with Eisenmenger syndrome. Chest tightness, pain and shortness of breath, lesions, headaches, dizziness, easily tiring, fainting, numbness or tingling in fingers and/or toes are the most common symptoms. Severe pulmonary arterial hypertension is the basic diagnosis of Eisenmenger syndrome. The diagnosis of Eisenmenger syndrome can be made when the mean pressure in the pulmonary trunk which can be elevated beyond 25 mmHg while at rest and 30 mmHg while at exercising. This elevation is resulted from aggravating thrombotic processes, pulmonary artery remodeling and vasoconstriction. Use of antiarrhythmics, anticoagulants, diuretics and/or digitalis is included in the pharmacological treatment. The management aspects include behavioral modifications, awareness of potential medical risk factors and patient education. The drugs for pulmonary hypertension have not been modified the survival rate significantly yet. The prevention by early surgery is ideal, as little progress in management has been made. Progressive factors like high altitudes, anesthesia, estrogen contraception and pregnancy has to be avoided. Cooperation of the medical practitioners with specialists like cardiologists and awareness about complications should improve the patient’s outlook....
National UK standards for critical care highlight the need for clinical pharmacists to\npractice at an advanced level and above. The aim of this research paper was to describe the views of\nUK critical care pharmacists on the current provision of Advanced Level Practice (ALP) education\nand accreditation. It sought to identify whether there is a need for a national or regional training\nprogramme. A questionnaire was delivered electronically targeting UK critical care pharmacists.\nWhilst the response rate was low at 40% (166/411); the views expressed were representative of\nUK practitioners with the majority of responders meeting the national specifications for clinical\npharmacist staffing in critical care areas. The responses highlighted work-based learning as the\nmain resource for developing ALP and a lack of suitable training packages. The vast majority\nof pharmacists identified that a national or regional training programme was required for ALP.\nThe results also identified the main barriers to undertaking ALP accreditation were lack of time,\nuncertainty regarding the process and its professional benefits and a lack of education and training\nopportunities. In conclusion, the responses clearly indicated that, for the necessary progression of\ncritical care pharmacists to ALP, a national or regional training programme is required....
Cancer is a well-known challenge to the human kind ever since the existence of Medical knowledge. From the age of 1600 B.C. when it was first discovered and described by “Edwin Smith” and “George Ebers” papyri, later described by Hippocrates as Carcinos, till today; Cancer has spread at an alarming rate and possess test for Medical and Clinical research world. In general terms cancer or carcinos is term defined in medical science for any kind of uncontrolled growth of cells which spreads from the region of occurrence to the other parts of the body like poison. Study of cancer is termed as an Oncology. Recent research and study have found various reasons for causing cancer and are termed as carcinogens or cancer causing agents. Cancer research have found various carcinogens responsible for triggering the initiation of cancer in the body and One such research study believes the inheritance of cancer among genes. Approximately there must be faults in 6 or more than 6 genes in the cells to turn them into cancerous. Breast cancer is termed as cancer of cells in Breast region and exists today as widest of all cancers among 140 out of 184 countries. Globally the occurrence rate of Breast cancer is 1 out 4 cancers. This highlights the huge market for pharmaceutical and clinical research industry. The present review thus highlights the facts and figures of the commonest of all cancers, the breast cancer, the treatment options available with us in molecular terms and the cure which lies in traditional medicines. The review also highlights the current market size and future and the latest clinical trials happening across globe. With the advancing technologies and sources of treatments available with us, the time is no far when we can find specific cure for different types of cancer, especially the breast cancer....
About 7% of people with parkinsonism have developed their symptoms following treatment with particular medications. This form of parkinsonism is called ‘drug-induced parkinsonism’. Drug induced etiology must always be suspected when parkinsonian symptoms appear or increase in a patient receiving drug treatment. Domperidone is commonly prescribed in the treatment of vomiting and gastroesophageal reflux but its side effects are rarely seen. They usually occur in infants and very young children due to a poorly developed blood–brain barrier. Contrary to the initial expectations, domperidone is able to penetrate into the hematoencephalic barrier and to cause neurological adverse reactions. We reported a case of drug-induced parkinsonism reaction in a 59 year old female patient who was treated with domperidone 10 mg tablets twice a day through oral route for a period of one year....
Objectives: The Nigerian health sector battles with control of infectious diseases and emerging non-communicable\ndiseases. Number of healthcare personnel involved in public health programs need to be boosted to contain the\nhealth challenges of the country. Therefore, it is important to assess whether community pharmacists in Nigeria\ncould be engaged in the promotion and delivery of various public health interventions. This study aimed to assess\nlevel of knowledge, attitude and practice of public health by community pharmacists.\nMethods: The cross sectional survey was carried out in Enugu metropolis. Questionnaire items were developed\nfrom expert literature. Percentage satisfactory knowledge and practice were obtained by determining the\npercentage of community pharmacists that were able to list more than 2 activities or that stated the correct\nanswer. Attitude score represents the average score on the 5 point Likert scale for each item. Chi square and\nFisherââ?¬â?¢s exact test were used to test for statistically significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice of\npublic health between different groups of community pharmacists.\nResults: Forty pharmacists participated in the survey. About one third of the participants had satisfactory\nknowledge of public health. With the exception of one item in attitude assessment, average item score ranged\nfrom ââ?¬Ë?agreedââ?¬â?¢ to ââ?¬Ë?strongly agreedââ?¬â?¢. Study participants scored below satisfactory on practice of public health.\nKnowledge, attitude and practice of public health were not influenced by years of practice, qualification and prior\npublic health experience. Reported barriers to the practice of public health include inadequate funds, lack of time,\nlack of space, cooperation of clients, inadequate staff, government regulation, insufficient knowledge, and\nremuneration.\nConclusions: Level of knowledge and practice of public health by community pharmacists were not satisfactory\nalthough they had a positive attitude towards practice of public health. The findings highlight the importance of\neducational interventions targeted towards practicing community pharmacists to improve their knowledge level on\npublic health issues. Providing incentives for public health services rendered could increase community\npharmacistsââ?¬â?¢ engagement in public health activities....
Background: This scoping review investigates the relationship between governance, pharmacovigilance, and Agencia\nNacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (ANVISA) in Brazil, which has authority over Brazil's national pharmaceutical policy, drug\nregistration and coordination of the national pharmacovigilance system. The purpose is to investigate opportunities for\neffective pharmacovigilance.\nMethods: Sixty-three terms pertaining to pharmacovigilance in Brazil and ANVISA, global institutions, pharmaceutical\nindustry, and civil society were searched in thirteen relevant databases on November 17-18, 2013. Using a\npharmacogovernance framework we analyzed ANVISA's pharmacogovernance: the manner in which governing\nstructures, policy instruments, and institutional authority are managed to promote societal interests for patient\nsafety due to medication use. The integration of transnational policy ideas for regulatory governance into\npharmacogovernance in Brazil was also investigated.\nResults: Brazil's policy, laws, and regulations support ANVISA's authority to ensure access to safe medicines and health\nproducts however ANVISA's broad mandate and gaps in pharmacogovernance account for regional disparities in\nmonitoring and assessing drug safety. Gaps in pharmacogovernance include: equity and inclusiveness; stakeholder\ncoordination; effectiveness and efficiency; responsiveness; and intelligence and information.\nConclusions: Pharmacogovernance that addresses 1) regional resource disparities, 2) federal and state lack of\ncoordination of pharmacovigilance regulations, 3) asymmetric representation in the pharmaceutical regulatory\nagenda and which 4) disaggregates regulatory authority over health and commercial sectors would strengthen\npharmacovigilance in Brazil....
Background: Thai pharmacy education has moved to an all Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programme. However,\nthere has been no previous research about the perceptions regarding the suitability of PharmD graduates\nemployed in hospital settings, which is the major pharmacy workforce in Thailand.\nMethods: A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was distributed to 180 hospital pharmacists at the 2013\nAssociation of Hospital Pharmacy (Thailand) conference. This study aimed to explore Thai hospital pharmacists�\nperceptions concerning the suitability of the PharmD graduates employed in hospital settings and the competency\ndifferences between the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and PharmD graduates. Descriptive statistics were used to\npresent the participants� demographics and their perceptions. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse\nthe open-ended written answers.\nResults: Ninety-eight valid responses were included in the data analysis (response rate of 55.6 %). The majority of\nthe respondents (76.5 %) felt that the PharmD graduates were suited for the hospital setting and addressed its\nneed for more professionals working in pharmaceutical care and with multi-disciplinary teams. Approximately 55 %\nof respondents agreed that there were competency differences between the BPharm and PharmD graduates. Major\nthemes emerged in response to the open-ended written answers showing that PharmD graduates had high\ncompetency in patient care services and readiness to work, particularly in large hospitals, due to their training to\nwork in specialised areas (e.g., special clinics, ward rounds). However, PharmD graduates require more training in\nhealth promotion and humanistic skills and need the system to promote the role of PharmD in pharmaceutical\ncare.\nConclusions: PharmD graduates were suited for hospital settings. However, there were concerns regarding the\nsuitability of the PharmD graduates for the community hospital and primary care hospital settings because of their\ninsufficient training in health promotion and disease prevention. Half of the respondents perceived PharmD\ngraduates as having higher competencies in clinical activities and being more prepared to work than BPharm\ngraduates. However, the other half of the respondents perceived the competency of both pharmacy qualifications\nas being similar, as PharmD graduates provide non-clinical activities similar to BPharm graduates due to the high\nworkload in dispensing services and the shortage of hospital pharmacists, which prevent PharmD graduates from\nproviding direct pharmaceutical care services....
Lithium is a potent mood stabilizer used in bipolar therapy for decades. Narrow therapeutic index of the molecule owe to its associated adverse effects and risk of intoxication. Hence a clear understanding of its pharmaco-toxicokinetics could substantially decrease the risk of such events. In this study, we report a case study on lithium intoxication and a clear insight of its toxicokinetics. Clinical details of the patient were retrieved from the case sheets. Willingness and consent of the patient caretaker were obtained before the commencement of the study. A detailed review of literature was done. Plasma concentration of lithium was measured at definite intervals. Plasma concentration of 1.8 mEq/L was observed suggestive of intoxication. Drug interactions and other patholological causes discussed below would have predisposed the patient for such an event. Effective therapeutic monitoring strategies could decrease the risk of lithium intoxication....
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder which is characterized by attention deficit, hyperactivity or impulsiveness which is not appropriate for a person’s age are caused by significant problems with executive functions. In 2013, it is believed to increase the percentage of people diagnosed with ADHD, especially among the adults due to the changes in the DSM-V diagnostic criteria. CNS stimulants are the medications of choice and for they are the best first-line therapeutic option for adults with ADHD. It is also proven that developments in behavioural parent training (BPT) and behavioural classroom management (BCM) are useful. Behavioural psychotherapy when used in combination with an effective medication regimen has shown to be successful. The most effective treatment approach is to consider the social factors of the children along with the symptoms which help in designing the treatment plan uniquely. This review aims to explain the treatment and management of ADHD....
Loading....