Search

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are recognised causes of increased mortality, morbidity, and high healthcare costs. The contribution of healthcare students to ADR databases is essential and has enabled continued drug detection to such an extent that it has led to identifying unsuspected and rare ADR signals. Objectives: The study aims to evaluate healthcare students’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward ADR reporting. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 265 healthcare students of Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, from various departments. A three-section questionnaire was developed in English and distributed online from July to October 2020. Each participant received a score for each KAP section. Results: Of the 265 healthcare students included in the study, 56.98% were female. The majority were pharmacy students 132 (49.81%), followed by medical 74 (27.92%) and nursing 59 (22.26%) students. There was a significant difference in ADR reporting among healthcare students. KAP of ADR reporting was higher among pharmacy students (88.68%) compared to the medical (19.25%) and nursing students (29.63%), with a p-value of 0.05. Conclusion: This study showed that pharmacy students had more awareness of ADR reporting than other healthcare students due to pharmacovigilance courses in their curriculum and adequate training during clerkships and internships. Hence, it is necessary to include pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting in other healthcare curriculum to reduce ADR underreporting in the future. Periodic educational interventions can improve these parameters of pharmacovigilance.

Masi Periyannasamy is known as the village guardian deity located in Kollimalai Masi hills in Namakkal district. The structure of temple is built under a roof covered with grass. It has a lion as its vehicle. This temple at Masi hills is considered to be the original temple. It is said that Masi Periyannan Swamy temples have been constructed at Namakkal and Trichy by taking soil from this temple. The little deity is associated with folklore and dialects. This idolatry began to worship human beings in order to continuously exchange the memory of the ancestors who lived with them among the progeny and to worship them in the hope that they might help them in some way or the other. While prayer and offering obeisance are fundamental to these two forms of worship, it is different in terms of Saivism and Non-vegetarianism. In the form of minor deity worship, worship is mostly non-vegetarian. There is no sacrifice in the worship of the great deity. But it assumes significance in the worship of the minor deities. However, there is also a tendency for people who are overly believers in the worship of the deity to associate the minor deity with the deities like Shiva and Thirumal. But it does not have long-standing legends. Associated with folk tales, they see Shiva as the form and the incarnation of Thirumal. In this system, nowadays there is a tendency for people to see Kollimalai Masi Periyannasamy, a small deity, as an incarnation of Thirumal. In this article, the methods of worship performed to Masi Periyannasamy are dealt with.

Objective: To improve the treatment of H. pylori infection, by achieving the required bactericidal concentrations of antibiotics in the stomach, by delivering the antibiotics to the mucus layer and release the drug at the site of infection for a prolonged period would be significantly more effective than conventional dosage forms. Methods: The experimental method of the research was designed to prepare Levofloxacin floating by using Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC K4M), Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC K100M) and Xanthan gum by Three-level Box–Behnken design optimization method. The prepared tablets were evaluated for Thickness, Hardness, Friability, Weight variation, Swelling index (SI), Floating lag time (FLT) and Time required to release 90% of the drug from the tablet (T90%). Results: It was found that the Thickness-3.12±0.11 mm to 3.28±0.10 mm, Hardness-4.52±0.36 kg/cm2 to 4.81±0.24 kg/cm2, Friability-0.81±0.02g to 0.86±0.12g, Weight variation-480±1.90 mg to 523±0.89 mg, Swelling index (SI)-61.9±0.624% to 99.95±0.226%, Floating lag time (FLT)-81.12±0.63 s to 119.7±0.567 s and Time required to release 90% of the drug from the tablet (T90%)-7.0±0.55 h to 10.33±0.289 h. HPMC K100M and Xanthan gum showed good swelling as compared to HPMC K4M. The study revealed that HPMC K100M grade had a significant effect on drug release. Conclusion: The developed gastro-floating tablets can extend levofloxacin duration in the stomach and produce a prolonged release effect. The prepared levofloxacin floating tablet oral drug delivery system appears to be a promising choice for the efficient eradication of H. pylori

Mental illness affects at least one in four people, either directly or indirectly. Caregivers play a significant role in fulfilling the vital physical needs and psychological wellbeing of mentally ill patients. Caregiving for mentally ill persons causes a burden to the caregivers. This burden reflects in the physical and mental health of the caregiver. This study was designed to explore the Quality of Life (QOL) of caregivers of mentally ill inpatients. In this descriptive, comparative cross-sectional study, the quality of life of caregivers of the psychiatric ward and general wards was studied by inpatients settings using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) Scale. Caregivers of mentally ill patients have lower QOL levels, and it was observed that the WHOQOL-BREF score of the general ward was significantly higher than that of the psychiatric ward caregivers in all domains. This study would help manage, intervene, and identify the physical and mental health caregivers.

Wound infection has always been a major complication of surgery and trauma. The aim of our study was to determine the bacteriology of wound infections and to study the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the isolates. The study was conducted in tertiary care hospital, Erode. The design of the study was a prospective type. Pus swabs / specimens were collected from hospitalized patients who developed wound infections. Bacterial pathogens were identified by conventional biochemical methods according to standard microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed on Muller – Hinton agar by the standard disk diffusion method. The incidence of wound infection was more common in males (63%) than in females (37%). Out of 100 culture positive samples, 61 samples were collected from diabetic ulcer patients, 20 samples were from ulcer patients, and 19 samples were from post operative patients. Of the 100 samples (culture positive), 71% collected samples showed mono-microbial growth, 29% showed two type of microbial growth. The prevalence of S. aureus (62.87%) from different wound infections was found to be high, followed by E.coli (48.65%), Klebsiella (30.21%), Pseudomonas (22.16%). Organisms showed diversity in the sensitivity pattern towards the antibiotics tested. High level of sensitivity was observed to Imipenem, Piperacillin tazobactum and Amikacin. High level of resistance was observed to Cephalosporins and Penicillin derivatives. We concluded that the sensitivity pattern of the antibiotics is not based on the infection site but on the type of organisms. This study gives us an insight to the current state of causative pathogens and their sensitivity to different antibiotics used in tertiary care hospital, Erode. The data of this study may be used to determine trends in antimicrobial susceptibilities and to modify antibiotic policy of the Hospital.

The heterocyclic aromatic compound benzimidazole is made up of benzene and an imidazole ring. In medicinal chemistry, it's a crucial pharmacophore and a privileged structure. It's a component of the vitamin cobalamin. Antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, anti-cancer, anti-helminthic, antioxidant, anti-fungal, anti-allergic, anti-parasitic, anti-proliferative, anti-HIV, anti-convulsant, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive and proton pump inhibitors are only a few of the pharmacological functions of benzimidazole derivatives play a critical role throughout the medical sector. The Mannich reaction is one of the most versatile reaction in organic synthesis. This reaction can be used to make N-methyl derivatives and a variety of drug molecules. Mannich base benzimidazole derivatives play a significant role in medicine, with several medicinal applications including antibacterial, anthelmintic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, analgesic and anti-convulsant. Changes in their composition have provided a high degree of variety, which has been beneficial in the case of new therapeutic agents with increased efficacy and lower toxicity. This analysis emphasises the significance of synthesis and various biological activities of newly synthesized mannich bases of benzimidazole derivatives, as well as a few key synthesis methodologies.

The study was aimed to analyse the pattern of medication errors and drug interaction induced adverse drug reactions in the psychiatry department of a tertiary care hospital. A Prospective observational study being conducted in the inpatient and outpatient department of psychiatry in a tertiary care hospital, Erode, Tamil Nadu for over six months. A total of 80 prescriptions with psychiatric illness and 174 medication errors were observed. Of the 174 medication errors observed, 132(75.8%) were incomplete prescriptions making the highest number of medication errors. The highest number of errors occurred due to Prescription error 156(89.0%), followed by administration error 8(4.5%). According to the NCCMERP classification, the majority of medication errors were coming under category B 120(68.9%) but there is no harm. The demographic reports of outpatients in the present study showed a higher incidence of medication errors in patients with the age group of 31-40 years 25(36.7%). Considering the factors contributing to a medication error, refusal of the patient to take the drug 27(39.7%) followed by forgetting 13(19.1%) due to the vulnerable characteristics of the patient was more significant. Although there is a general lack of awareness, many patients and bystanders are unaware of their diagnosis and medications. It is, therefore, a crucial step to educate and make them aware of the correct use of medicine.

The aim of this research was to assess the quality of inhalation technique in patients and to determine the effect of a single intervention by clinical pharmacist to improve knowledge of patient regarding the use of inhalers among asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients. A total of 223 patients with asthma or COPD using inhaler medication were randomly selected. During the first appointment, patients were interviewed and their inhalation technique was assessed with checklists. Errors were recorded and counselling with practical demonstration of proper inhalation technique was given. After 3 days, inhalation technique by the patients was reassessed and recorded using checklist. Pre and post comparison were performed to assess the impact of education by pharmacist about inhalation technique among asthma and COPD patients. All the patients committed at least single one error in their inhalation technique. There was a significant reduction in the number of patients who committed error in the first appointment to second appointment. Out of 223 patients, 162 patients (72.6%) committed error in the step 5 (exhale normally) in the first appointment. This number dropped to 21 (9.4%) in the second appointment after counselling with practical demonstration (P < 0.015). Correct inhalation technique is essential for effective drug delivery in COPD and asthma. The inhalation technique of asthma and COPD in patients is poor. Pharmacists can play a pivotal role in improving health outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD by providing knowledge on how to use their inhaler devices properly.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are by-products of metabolism that increase inthe body during inflammation, smokingradiation exposure and certain drugs. ROS damages DNA and other molecules and is involved in cancer growth and advancement. ROS can be neutralized and killed by the Endogenous and nutritional antioxidants and also play a part in the prevention of cancer. Human observational studies indicate that high intakes of foods rich in antioxidant, particularly fruits, vegetables, and grains, are inversely related to cancer risk. Radiotherapy and certain chemotherapeutic agents target on ROS todestroy cancer cells. Although supplementation with antioxidants may assist safeguard normal cells from ROS harm and may have palliative impacts during cancer treatment, studies shows that cancer cells can also be protected from ROS harm, thus reducing the efficacy of therapy and patient survival. This paper reviews shows the use of antioxidant supplements and antioxidant-rich diets in effect of cancer risk and mortality. A large number of patients undergoing cancer treatment uses antioxidants but antioxidants alone cannot be used as chemotherapeutic agent but it is proved to improve the therapeutic outcome and improvement in patient complaints when used as an adjuvant in chemotherapy. Antioxidants plays a major role in maintains of immune system but their actions in targeted area of cancer cells are idiopathic so, further studies have to be done independently in each antioxidant to establish its safety and efficacy.

The goal of a successful vaccine is to prepare the immune system for invasion of a foreign pathogen and teach them to recognize antigens as well as reduce the risk of transmission. In the field of cancer, vaccines are found to be the latest discovery. Provenge? (Sipuleucel-T) is the only vaccine approved by Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cancer. Vaccines are an appealing therapeutic strategy because they are specific. In addition they stimulate the adaptive immune system, thereby producing a memory response allowing for sustained effect without repeated therapy. Revelation of a potential anticancer treatment is as yet a test to the researchers. Thus, the development of effective cancer vaccines require, thoughtful clinical trials, and scientific progress which might induce long-term specific anticancer response and could contribute to effective and lasting elimination of malignant cells.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the common medication error (ME), and its causes, category, and severity by using suitable questionnaire.Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out for 6 months in a psychiatric department. Demographic data, clinical history, and complete prescription were noted.Results: A total of 120 psychiatric cases were collected, among that 116 MEs were identified in which male patients were 64 (55%) and females 52 (44.8%). The number of MEs occurred due to physician was 67 (57.7%), due to nurses was 15 (12.9%), and combined was 38 (32.7%). Incomplete prescription was the main type of error that we found. About 43.1% of the error we identified was informed to the staff and and no specific action was needed for 37.1% of errors. In our study, we found that majority of 54 (46.5%) errors were categorized under category B, but there was no harm to the patient.Conclusion: The present study concluded that most of the patients admitted in the psychiatry department would experience MEs. Clinical pharmacist can play a major role in the early detection and prevention of MEs and thus can improve the quality of care to the patients.

Even with the revolution of gene-targeting technologies led by CRISPR-Cas9, genetic modification of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is still time consuming. Comparative studies that use recombinant lines with transgenes integrated into safe harbor loci could benefit from approaches that use site-specific targeted recombinases, like Cre or FLPe, which are more rapid and less prone to off-target effects. Such methods have been described, although they do not significantly outperform gene targeting in most aspects. Using Zinc-finger nucleases, we previously created a master cell line in the AAVS1 locus of hPSCs that contains a GFP-Hygromycin-tk expressing cassette, flanked by heterotypic FRT sequences. Here, we describe the procedures to perform FLPe recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) using this line. The master cell line is transfected with a RMCE donor vector, which contains a promoterless Puromycin resistance, and with FLPe recombinase. Application of both a positive (Puromycin) and negative (FIAU) selection program leads to the selection of RMCE without random integrations. RMCE generates fully characterized pluripotent polyclonal transgenic lines in 15 d with 100% efficiency. Despite the recently described limitations of the AAVS1 locus, the ease of the system paves the way for hPSC transgenesis in isogenic settings, is necessary for comparative studies, and enables semi-high-throughput genetic screens for gain/loss of function analysis that would otherwise be highly time consuming. ispartof: Journal of Visualized Experiments vol:2016 issue:117 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Chloroquine is a prototype antimalarial drug used to prevent and treat malaria, amebiasis and other autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. The drug acts as an autophagy inhibitor were autophagy is a self-destructive process which is needed to balance sources of energy at developmental process and in response to nutrient deprivation. New studies have shown the crucial role of chloroquine in cancer treatment and is been extensively used as a monotherapy or adjunct therapy in various types of cancer. This review summarizes the role of chloroquine and its action as an autophagy inhibitor in cancer treatment and also the various safety issues concerning with the same. Keywords: Adjuanct therap; Autophagy inhibitor; Chloroquine; Monotherapy

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of risk factors which influence the increased rate of myocardial infarction in atertiary care hospital.Methods: Data for this 6 months prospective observational study were collected from 227 patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital with acutemyocardial infarction, through patient interviews and case reports and were analyzed.Results: A total of 227 cases were taken for this study. Out of 227 patients, 168 (74.19%) were males and 59 (25.81%) were females. This studyreveals some major risk factors which contribute the increased rate of myocardial infarction and were smoking, chronic alcoholism, obesity, sedentarylifestyle, male sex, physical inactivity, comorbid diseases, sleep disorders as well as age group between 41 and 60 years. No association between oilconsumption coffee intake and a positive association between tea intake was observed. Out of 105 patients diagnosed with ST elevated MI, 55 (52.23%)were treated with fibrinolytic therapy and 50 (47.77%) were excluded from this therapy mainly due to delayed admission. All the patients were foundto be benefited by beta-blocker therapy.Conclusion: Results suggested that awareness regarding moderate physical activity, cessation of cigarette smoking, increased daily consumption offruits and vegetables may reduce the increased myocardial infarction risk.Keywords: Myocardial infarction, Risk factors, Fibrinolytic therapy, Beta blockers.

Statins are most effective in reducing the plasma cholesterol level by inhibiting hydroxyl methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase. Emerging evidence suggest that statins exert other mechanism of action called Pleiotropic effects; which are plaque stability, endothelial function modification, thrombus formation etc. Therefore therapeutic potential of statins extends beyond lipid lowering. Correctly underlying these pleiotropic effect suggest a new method to prevent and treat wide variety of life threatening disorders. Thus statins has added a wide scope of potential targets ranging from acute coronary syndrome to other renal infections and neuroleptic disorders.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of methanol extract of Careya arborea (MECA). The effects of MECA on the acute and chronic phases of inflammation were studied in carrageenan, dextran and mediators (histamine and serotonin) induced paw oedema and cotton pellet induced granuloma respectively. Analgesic effect of MECA was evaluated in acetic acid induced writhing and hotplate tests. The anti-oedema effect of MECA was compared with indomethacin 10 mg/kg orally. In acute phase of inflammation a maximum inhibition of 50.56, 48.86, 47.12 and 48.23% (p

The methanol extract of the leaves of Acalypha fruticosa was evaluated for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The antioxidant property of the methanol extract of Acalypha fruticosa (MEAF) was evaluated by 1,1,-dipehenyl-2- picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay and in-vitro lipid perioxdation induced by Fe2+ -ascorbate system in the rat liver homogenate. In DPPH radidcal scavenging assay the IC50 value pf the defatted methanol extract was found to be 57μg/ml whereas the ascorbic acid exhibited 422μg/ml. The extract also showed marked inhibiting activities in lipid peroxide levels in Fe2+-ascorbate system. The MEAF exhibited maximum inhibition (55.2%) at the dose of 500 mg/kg after 3 h of drug treatment in carrageenan induced paw oedema, whereas the idomethacin (standard drug, 20 mg/kg) produced 62.0% of inhibition. In the chronic model (cotton pellet induced granuloma), the MEAF (500 mg/kg) and standard drug showed decreased formation of granuloma tissue at 52.4% and 57.3% (p