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Background: Food-drug interaction (FDI) is prevalent in our day-to-day life. Widely recognised as drug expert, pharmacists are responsible to provide patient education, including on FDI, to ensure optimum safety and efficacy of treatment. Most pharmacists have knowledge and experience regarding FDI to certain extent. However, the level of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards FDI among pharmacists were yet to elucidated for many countries, including for Malaysia. Objective: This study aims to assess pharmacists' KAP on FDI, their inter-association, as well as association with sociodemographic characteristics in Sabah, Malaysia. Methods & materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 to 31 May 2023, using online, self-administered Google Form questionnaire, involving 24 government hospitals and 113 government health clinics in Sabah. Results: A total of 273 (or 35.5%) out of 768 pharmacists responded. Over two-third were female and serving government hospitals (79.6%). Mean score of KAP were 72.5 ± 14.3%, 93.2 ± 8.3% and 56.0 ± 16.7%, respectively, reflected good attitude but moderate knowledge and practice. Knowledge gaps identified include common medications such as paracetamol and metformin.Additionally, 28.2% respondents reported lack of FDI coverage during undergraduate, while merely 17.2% have received formal training on FDI after started working. Although 89.0% respondents agree that informing patients about possible FDIs is their responsibility, only 35.9% of the respondents usually or always practiced this. Such discrepancy maybe attributed to insufficient pharmacists' knowledge on FDI, where pharmacists with good level of knowledge have almost 2 times higher odd for good level of practice, compared to those with poor/moderate knowledge (odds ratio, OR: 1.92; 95% CI 1.02–3.61; p = 0.040) in this study. Conclusion: There are significant training gaps to be filled in. Pharmacist possessing good knowledge is a prerequisite for better pharmacy practice. Adequate education strategies covering FDI should be emphasised for all pharmacy undergraduates and practising pharmacists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacists have been involved in improving patients' health care system in a variety of ways through the clinical research since years ago. Currently, the level of pharmacist's involvement in research is lowing Sabah. This qualitative study aimed to explore the pharmacists' attitudes and barriers towards research and to identify potential strategies to increase the research participation. Nine pharmacists from public services Kota Kinabalu were selected by purposive sampling and interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide until saturation of themes were reached. The session was audio-taped and notes were taken by researcher. Thematic analysis of the notes and audio-tape transcripts was conducted. Two themes emerged around pharmacists' attitudes towards research: perspective and perception of the purpose of research. Most interviewees expressed that they are not interested in doing research as they underestimate or undervalue the importance of research. They are not aware how research can help in improving current health care system. Barriers to research participation were grouped into four themes: perception, communication, resources, and skill and knowledge. Strategies to address each of these barriers were suggested during this study. Strategies such as proper time management and providing adequate staffing in research were suggested to overcome the barriers to participation. Most interviewees were not aware of the importance of participation in research. Time needed to involve in research was noted to be one of the barriers for all interviewees. Practical strategies were suggested to overcome the barriers to participation and these strategies should be considered when promoting research participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) can be devastating, particularly if haematoma expansion occurs. The efficacy of tranexamic acid (TXA), an anti-fibrinolytic agent, in reducing haematoma expansion is now being studied worldwide. However, the optimal dosage of TXA has yet to be determined. This study was designed to further establish the potential of different doses of TXA., Methods: A double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled study was carried out among adults with non-traumatic ICH. Eligible study subjects were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 2-g TXA treatment or 3-g TXA treatment. Haematoma volumes before and after intervention were measured using the planimetric method., Results: A total of 60 subjects with 20 subjects in each treatment group were recruited for this study. Among the 60 subjects, the majority were male ( n = 36, 60%), had known cases of hypertension ( n = 43, 71.7%) and presented with full Glasgow coma scale (GCS) ( n = 41, 68.3%). The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference ( P = 0.315) in the mean changes of haematoma volume when compared with three study groups using ANCOVA, although the 3-g TXA group was the only group that showed haematoma volume reduction (mean reduction of 0.2 cm 3 ) instead of expansion as in placebo (mean expansion 1.8 cm 3 ) and 2-g TXA (mean expansion 0.3 cm 3 ) groups. Good recovery was observed in all study groups, with only three subjects being moderately disabled. No adverse effects were reported in any of the study groups., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical study using 3 g of TXA in the management of non-traumatic ICH. From our study, 3 g of TXA may potentially be helpful in reducing haematoma volume. Nonetheless, a larger-scale randomised controlled trial should be carried out to further establish the role of 3 g of TXA in non-traumatic ICH., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None., (© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2023.)