Search

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the prevalence and characteristics of ADRs and to identify the factors associated with ADRs among hospitalized patients. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over a 6 month period at Teaching Hospital Karapitiya (THK), Sri Lanka. A total of 2000 patients, who were admitted consecutively for any type of treatment during the study period were enrolled. The factors associated with ADRs were evaluated using logistic regression models, using ADR occurrence as the outcome. Results: A total of 123 ADRs were found from the sample. The prevalence of ADRs among hospitalized patients was 6.2%. (95% CI 5.1-7.2). ADRs were reported in 62 males (50.4%). The median (IQR) age of ADR occurrence was 52 (35-67) years. The most prevalent type of ADR was Type A (n = 62, 50.4%) and out of the total ADRs, 74 were moderately severe reactions (60.2%). Antibiotics (n = 29, 23.5%) were the most common causative agent for ADRs, followed by anticoagulants (n = 10, 8.1%). The multivariate logistic regression model showed that the number of prescribed drugs (P =.011), ADR history (P = 0 0.01) and diabetes mellitus (P =.003) were significantly associated with the occurrence of ADRs. Age (P =.21), gender (P =.31), ethnicity (P =.14), and other concomitant illnesses (Hypertension P =.66, Ischemic Heart Disease P =.25, etc.) did not associated with the occurrence of ADRs. Conclusion: According to this study the prevalence of ADRs was significant among inward patients in the Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya. The number of prescribed drugs, ADR history and diabetes mellitus were significantly correlated with the occurrence of ADRs. The results of the study can be used to guide healthcare professionals to revise the medication list frequently and monitor the patients who are at risk for developing ADRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the survival benefit and immunomodulatory effects of cimetidine pre-, peri- or post-operatively in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC)., Methods: A systematic review was conducted using PubMed and Cochrane Library to retrieve randomized control trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of cimetidine on survival and immunomodulation via improvement in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and peripheral blood lymphocytes. The review was carried out in accordance with the extended Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses., Results: Four studies with the total of 267 patients were included in this systematic review. Treatment duration varied from 5 days to 1 year. Two studies reported a significant TIL response in the resected specimens after administering cimetidine, while one RCT showed an escalation of CD 3 , CD 4 and CD 57 lymphocytes in peripheral blood compared to the baseline following cimetidine treatment ( p  < 0.01). Of the three trials that examined the effects of cimetidine on survival, only two studies revealed significant survival benefit while the remaining study only showed a trend towards survival benefit., Conclusion: Repurposing of existing drugs like cimetidine has a potential to offer a survival benefit by acting as an immunomodulatory agent in patients undergoing curative resection for CRC. However, the heterogeneity seen in current studies and the evolvement of adjunctive therapies for CRC warrant large-scale, well-designed prospective RCTs to establish the efficacy of cimetidine in CRC., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objective: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) add a significant clinical and economic burden to the healthcare system of a country. We present an overview of the different approaches of ADR reporting systems worldwide and their evolution over time., Methods: A systematic review of the literature was made based on PubMed and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews. The articles searched for included original articles, WHO and FDA reports and institute of medicine reports. Reporting ADRs is the cornerstone of detecting uncommon ADRs once the drugs are on the market. In many countries, ADR reporting is regulated by national regulatory bodies and various methods are employed to report ADRs. Direct reporting by healthcare professionals has been adopted by many developed and developing countries. With emerging new technologies in the field of medicine, there is a great potential to develop better ADR reporting systems in the countries where they have poor reporting., Conclusion: Development and acquisition of newer technologies to promote ADR monitoring and reporting is a necessity for an effective pharmacovigilance system in a country., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)