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Diabetes mellitus is a chronic noncommunicable disease, and hypertension (HT) is the most common comorbidity which affects their quality of life (QoL).The aim of the study was to assess the effects of antihypertensive agents (viz., amlodipine, ramipril, telmisartan, and ramipril with telmisartan) on the blood pressure (BP) and QoL.It was an open-labeled prospective intention-to-treat study done in diabetic hypertensive patients (After 24 weeks of therapy, systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were significantly reduced in all groups. In amlodipine, there was a mean percentage fall of SBP by 15.85% (confidence interval [CI]: 21.38-28.13) and DBP by 11.22% (CI: 8.41-12.70); in ramipril - 14.4% (CI: 18.61-25.15) and 12.4% (CI 8.88-13.99); telmisartan - 18.4% (CI: 24.89-10.79) and 14.6% (CI 10.79-16.24); and in RT group, SBP 17.7% (CI: 23.38-29.18) and DBP 12.4% (CI: 9.05-13.02). QoL score increased by 30.56% (CI: 14.30-10.90), 30.94% (CI: 14.21-10.68), 28.07% (CI: 14.89-11.20), and 28.84% (CI: 15.49-11.77), in respective groups (Amlodipine, ramipril, telmisartan, and a combination of RT are equally effective to improve BP and QoL among diabetic hypertensive patients. However, amlodipine and telmisartan lacked in dry cough and more tolerable than the ramipril and RT therapy. Henceforth, amlodipine and telmisartan are better choice to control HT among DM patients.

Objective: The Urinary tract is one of the most common source for life threatening infection. A broad range of organisms may be isolated. Various antibiotics are used for the treatment but rising resistance among pathogenic organisms is one major concern in choosing effective treatment option. The main objective of the study was to check the efficacy and safety of nitrofurantoin (100 mg BD dose) for five days in cases of acute lower UTI. Material and Methods Study design: open label, single arm study. Study population: Seventy patients presenting with clinical symptoms of urinary tract infection were selected which were further confirmed by urine culture in the microbiology department. Protocol: Urine culture and sensitivity testing for nitrofurantoin was done. After confirmation of the causative organism and sensitivity testing patients were prescribed nitrofurantoin (100 mg BD) for five days and were told to revisit the OPD on 7th day. Urine culture was repeated to see the bacterial eradication rate. Results: Sensitivity reported to nitrofurantoin is 84.3%. Among all the pathogenic organism’s highest sensitivity was shown by Proteus (87.5%), followed by E. coli (84.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (83.3%), Klebsiella (70%). The bacterial eradication rate is 91.5%.

Introduction: Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) is a complex score for monitoring disease activity in Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Aim: To develop a simplified version of the ASDAS. Materials and Methods: Consenting 254 AS patients (modified New York and/or Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis 2009 criteria) were recruited. Sociodemographic data and disease characteristics such as Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath AS Functional Index (BASFI), and AS Quality of Life (ASQoL), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) were collected. Simplified ASDAS (SASDAS) was calculated as the simple sum of patient global assessment, back pain (BASDAI question no.2), peripheral pain and swelling (BASDAI question no.3), morning stiffness (BASDAI question no.6), and either ESR in mm/hour (for SASDAS-ESR) or CRP in mg/L (for SASDAS-CRP); this sum was divided by 10 to obtain the final score. Results: Most patients (224/254; 88.19%) were males with the median age of 30 years. SASDAS-ESR and SASDAS-CRP showed good correlation with ASDAS-ESR and ASDAS-CRP respectively (r2=0.78 and 0.58 respectively; p-value

Background: Accurate and reliable drug product information is important for the safe and effective use of medicines. But there are variations in the quantity and quality of information mentioned in different drug information sources and a single credible benchmark is lacking. This study was carried out to compare the presentation and completeness of clinical information in package inserts (PIs) marketed by pharmaceutical companies in India with standard medical textbook of pharmacology.Methods: Out of eighty five PIs of different drugs, only 55 were found eligible to be included in this study after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. These PIs and medical textbook were analysed for quantitative and qualitative drug information and were compared using Chi square test of two proportions. The p value of 0.05 was used as cut off to evaluate statistical significance.Results: Quantitatively medical textbook was significantly better statistically in context of treatment of overdose and references. No statistically significant difference was observed in relation to information related to mechanism of action (MOA) and pharmacokinetics (Pk). After qualitative analysis, medical textbook was significantly better statistically in context of size and readability, references related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and indications and pictures. No statistically significant difference was observed in context of dosing interval, frequency of doses and pharmacokinetic parameters.Conclusions: PIs can be used as a reliable source of drug information by health care professionals in addition to other sources like medical textbooks.