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Background: Infertility affects one-fifth to one-sixth of couples of reproductive age. Gamete donation is one option for managing infertility, but it is relatively unknown in the developing world. Objectives: To assess Nigerian undergraduate students' knowledge, attitude and willingness to participate in gamete donation for artificial insemination. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 160 undergraduate students using a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. The respondents were recruited using a multi-stage sampling technique. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 21.5±3.2 years, with a range of 18-32 years. The majority (89.4%) of the respondents were single and were in the first year of study (56.3%). Almost all the respondents (96.3%) had heard about the practice of gamete donation, but only (38.7%) had overall good knowledge about it. Almost half (46.9%) of respondents had an overall positive attitude towards gamete donation, while only 37.5% were willing to participate. The class level of the respondents (p = 0.03) was significantly associated with poor knowledge of gamete donation, while age (p = 0.01) and gender (p < 0.001) were associated with a negative attitude. Age (p

Introduction COVID-19 most commonly causes pulmonary/lung infection, and these pulmonary diseases can complicate HIV infection. Underlying pulmonary diseases in people living with HIV (PLWH) could affect health outcomes if infected with COVID-19. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the impact of pulmonary diseases on the health outcomes of PLWH that were infected with COVID-19. Materials and methods We conducted a retrospective study to assess the impact of superimposed COVID-19 infection on pre-existing lung pathologies in patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection using data from the Minnesota Fairview network from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022. Ordinal logistic regressions were used to determine the effect of lung comorbidities on COVID-19 severity, COVID-19-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality, adjusting for patient age and gender.  Results Two hundred sixteen PLWH tested positive for COVID-19. 24.54% of these patients had one or more pulmonary diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other lung diseases (interstitial lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension). The severity of COVID-19 outcomes was evaluated by the ranking of patients' medical records of testing positive, admitted to the hospital, being admitted to the ICU, and death. COVID-19-specific and all-cause mortality were evaluated separately. PLWH with underlying asthma or COPD was not associated with increased all-cause or COVID-19-specific mortality. Interstitial lung disease or pulmonary hypertension was significantly associated with poor health outcomes for COVID-19-specific mortality and all-cause mortality (Fisher's Exact p-value <0.001), with ICU admissions accounting for the most impact. Using the multivariate models, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension was significantly associated with an increased risk of more severe COVID-19 outcomes and COVID-19-specific mortality (OR=6.6153, CI=2.5944, 17.0795, p-value < 0.001). Interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension were also significantly associated with an increased risk of more severe COVID-19 outcomes and all-cause mortality (OR=​​5.0885, CI=2.0590, 12.5542, p-value < 0.001). Conclusions To mitigate the poor outcomes associated with interstitial lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension in PLWH due to COVID-19, healthcare providers must educate their patients about safety measures against the COVID-19 vaccine. They can also encourage the COVID-19 vaccine uptake among their eligible patients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Aremu et al.)

There has been increased use of cefepime due to concerns about the nephrotoxic effects of the combined use of vancomycin and Zosyn. However, cefepime is associated with neurotoxicity. We conducted a systematic review using online data to explore the trend of cefepime-induced neurotoxicity over the last 10 years. Forty-six articles met our inclusion criteria, including 73 cases of cefepime-induced neurotoxicity. We noticed a steady increase in the reports of cefepime-induced neurotoxicity, from one case in 2013 to 11 cases in 2022. Individuals aged 65 and older accounted for most cefepime-induced neurotoxicity cases (52%). The top three indications for cefepime administration included bone and joint infections (25%), urinary tract infections (22.7%), and pneumonia (22.7%). Most patients with renal impairment have never had a renal adjustment of their cefepime dosage (either 2 g 12 hours a day or 2 g eight hours a day). Most cases of cefepime-induced neurotoxicity occurred between days two and five (n=29, 71%), while most resolution occurred between days one and five (n=29, 85%). While cefepime continues to be a popularly used and effective antibiotic against gram-negative bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa , its dosage needs to be adjusted in patients with renal impairment to avoid neurotoxicity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Ajibola et al.)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has extensively spread worldwide with high mortality. Besides vaccination, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved only one oral medication as a treatment. Medicinal plants with antiviral and immunomodulatory properties could be explored as complementary treatments for COVID-19. Ogbomosho is home to such plants traditionally used to treat infectious diseases in Nigeria, making it relevant in complementary medicine. An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used to treat COVID-19 and related ailments, including cough and flu in Ogbomosho South and North Local Government Areas, Nigeria, was conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Information was obtained from 56 participants, consisting of different groups of individuals with native knowledge of medicinal plants, and ethnobotanical indices, including the frequency of citation (FC), relative frequency of citation (RFC), and fidelity level (FL) were computed. Twenty-six medicinal plants (17 families) were used to treat COVID-19, 31 (20 families) for cough, and 29 (19 families) for flu. The most cited plant was Zingiber officinale (FC = 10; RFC = 0.18; FL = 18%) for treating COVID-19, Citrus limon (FC = 13; RFC = 0.23; FL = 23%) for cough, and Zingiber officinale (FC = 9; RFC = 0.16; FL = 16%) for flu. Leaves were the most used plant part for treating COVID-19 and flu, while the bark was the most used for cough. Trees and herbs were the most cited plant growth forms. The herbal remedies were mostly prepared by decoction and infusion and were mainly administered orally. Further research should be conducted on the identified species for the scientific validation of their antiviral and immunomodulatory efficacies and safety for use.

The indices of patients' health outcomes have historically included recurrence of symptoms, number of emergency visits, hospitalization and re-admission rates, morbidity, and mortality. As significant healthcare players, providers can influence these events, including the timeliness of diagnosis and disease management, the cost of treatment, access to health insurance, and medication adherence. Beyond healthcare availability and access, the ability of patients to adhere to providers' treatment recommendations goes a long way to serve as a recipe for improving patient outcomes. Unfortunately, medication nonadherence has been prevalent, culminating in worsened health conditions, increased cost of care, and increased healthcare spending. This article provides some innovative ideas and good considerations for encouraging medication adherence. Improving providers' and patients' education and adopting active and passive communication, including consented reminders, could enhance compliance. Embracing partnerships between providers' organizations and faith-based and community organizations could drive adherence. Adopting an income-based cap on out-of-pocket spending and adapting the physical properties, bioavailability, and dosage regimen of medications to accommodate diverse patient population preferences could encourage refills and compliance. Good medication adherence can culminate in improved patient outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Infectious diseases have been a significant challenge to health and wellbeing from ancient times, with substantial economic implications globally. Despite the advent of technology, infectious diseases continue to affect people of various social statuses and across geographical locations. Understanding some of the drivers of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, vaccination, and vaccine hesitancy is a step towards thriving in the modern world, achieving fewer morbidities and mortalities, and adequately controlling future pandemics. Pharmacists are strategically placed as healthcare team members to promote early disease control through health education, advocacy, cross-professional and specialty collaboration, communal trust-building, research, and global unity. Not forgetting that infectious diseases in the modern world are about people and science, credible crisis communication during the early phases of disease outbreaks paves the way for well-informed guidance globally.