Use and validation of a survey tool to measure the perceived effectiveness of insulin prescribing safety interventions in UK hospitals.

AIMS: To describe the use and validation of a survey tool to elicit the opinion of hospital pharmacists and medicines safety officers in the UK regarding the perceived effectiveness of strategies to improve insulin prescribing safety in hospitals. METHODS: One respondent from each participating organization completed the survey on behalf of the main acute hospital in their trust (n = 92). A five-point Likert scale was used to determine opinion on how effective 22 different interventions were at promoting insulin safety at the respondent's trust. The tool, the Perception of Effectiveness of Prescribing Safety Interventions for Insulin (PEPSII) questionnaire, underwent content validity testing. The reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha (α). RESULTS: The PEPSII questionnaire demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.867). Outreach team review and mandatory insulin education were the highest-scoring interventions; the insulin passport was amongst the lowest scoring interventions. Most interventions were considered more effective by trusts using them compared to those who didn't, except for self-administration policies, electronic prescribing and the insulin passport. CONCLUSIONS: The perceived effectiveness of a variety of insulin prescribing safety strategies in UK hospitals was described by leveraging a purposely developed survey tool. The results describe current levels of support for recommended interventions, and may facilitate the direction of both local and national insulin prescribing safety improvement efforts.

Exploration of a New Source of Sustainable Nanomaterial from the Koh-e-Suleiman Mountain Range of Pakistan for Industrial Applications.

The present study aimed to explore a new source of montmorillonite and to develop an extraction and purification protocol for its isolation from raw clay samples acquired from the Koh-e-Suleiman mountain range in Pakistan. The process involved the collection of raw clay from the source, identification and quantification of montmorillonite. Granulometric extraction and purification protocols increased the montmorillonite content from 21.8-25.1% in the raw clay to 90.1-93.9% after small-scale extraction and 85.33-89.33% on a larger scale. A techno-economic analysis highlighted the practicality and economic benefits of large-scale extraction for industrial applications. This study highlights the existence of a substantial new source of this valuable clay which is currently used across multiple industries including construction, pottery making, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and engineering. It is intuitively expected that the large-scale extraction of the material will improve the economic condition of the region by providing employment opportunities to locals and may be a valuable resource for export.

Strategies to reduce insulin prescribing errors in UK hospitals: results from a national survey.

AIM: To describe insulin prescribing practice in National Health Service hospitals in the UK and the current use of interventions and strategies to reduce insulin prescribing errors. METHODS: We sent a cross-sectional questionnaire to chief pharmacists in all National Health Service hospital trusts in the UK in January 2019. Questions concerned the use and functionality of electronic and paper systems used to prescribe subcutaneous insulin, along with features and interventions designed to reduce insulin prescribing errors. RESULTS: Ninety-five hospital trusts responded (54%). Electronic prescribing of insulin was reported in 40% of hospitals, most of which were teaching hospitals in England. We found a wide variation in the functionality of both electronic prescribing and paper-based systems to enable the safe prescribing of insulin for inpatients. The availability of specialist diabetes pharmacists to support the safe prescribing of insulin was low (29%), but was positively associated with the use of a greater number of insulin prescribing error reduction strategies (P=0.002). The use of specific interventions to improve insulin prescribing quality (e.g. self-administration policies) varied greatly between respondent hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: There is potential to optimize the functionality of both electronic and paper-based prescribing systems to improve the safe prescribing of insulin in hospitals in the UK. The wide variation in the use of insulin error reduction strategies may be improved by the availability of specialist diabetes pharmacists who can support the implementation of insulin-prescribing interventions.

Interventions to improve insulin prescribing practice for people with diabetes in hospital: a systematic review.

AIM: To conduct a systematic review of literature to identify interventions that are effective in improving insulin prescribing for people with diabetes in the hospital setting. METHODS: Computerized bibliographic databases were searched for studies published in English that described the effectiveness of interventions to improve insulin prescribing within the hospital setting. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported data that compared insulin prescribing practice after an intervention or compared with a control group. Studies were not excluded on the basis of publication date, geographical location or risk of bias assessment. RESULTS: We identified 35 studies for inclusion in the review, including two cluster randomized controlled trials, two cohort studies, and 31 uncontrolled before-after studies. Studies reported a variety of interventions that aimed to increase insulin prescribing accuracy or completeness or decrease the use of discouraged subcutaneous sliding scale insulin regimens. Differences in definition of insulin prescribing error, terminology and common practice based on geographical location was evident, and quality issues with respect to study design and reporting somewhat limited the interpretation of conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing strategies that are sensitive to local context and designed to increase adherence to insulin prescribing guidelines are associated with a reduction in prescribing errors. Future implementation should build on effective approaches including multifaceted interventions involving multiple stakeholders at various institutional levels. Future studies in insulin prescribing errors would benefit from the use of standardized approaches, terminology and outcome measures to enable greater comparison.

In vitro bionomics of an ischnoceran louse, Lipeurus caponis (Phthiraptera: insecta).

Poultry wing louse, Lipeurus caponis was reared in vitro condition (35 ± 1 °C, 75-82 % RH) to record the incubation period of the eggs, duration of nymphal instars, adult longevity and the egg rate. The data obtained through in vitro studies was utilized to construct the life table and to determine the intrinsic rate of natural increase. The value of rm of L. caponis appeared to 0.046. At this rate, the population of lice is supposed to double after 16.1 days, indicating it to be a moderate breeder.

Impact of a Baby-Friendly hospital on breastfeeding indicators in Shaqlawa district in Erbil governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq.

This study aimed to assess the impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on WHO-defined breastfeeding indicators in Shaqlawa district in Kurdistan region of Iraq. A household survey was carried out on a purposive non-probability sample of 200 mothers with a child aged < 30 months. Mothers were interviewed using a structured form to determine demographic data and feeding practices of the most recent child. The rate of early initiation of breastfeeding was 38.1%, exclusive breastfeeding was 15.4% and continued breastfeeding was 61.0% and 39.5% at 1 and 2 years of age respectively. A significant relationship was found between delivery at the Baby- Friendly accredited hospital and early initiation of breastfeeding but not with exclusive or continued breastfeeding. While continued breastfeeding at 1 year and 2 year was good, early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding indicators were not at an acceptable level, which indicates an ineffective role for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

Anxiety symptoms and the risk of diabetes mellitus in Australian women: evidence from 21-year follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the association between transitions in anxiety symptoms and the risk of diabetes in women, using longitudinal data. STUDY DESIGN: This longitudinal study measured diabetes, and transitions in anxiety symptoms, using validated instruments. METHODS: Data obtained by the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy were analysed. Anxiety was measured using the Delusion Symptoms States Inventory (DSSI). To examine possible transitions over different time periods, anxiety was grouped into four categories and assessed at different phases over a 21-year period. RESULTS: Three hundred and one women reported diabetes 21 years after the index pregnancy. Almost half of the women who reported anxiety symptoms continued to report these at a subsequent follow-up (FU) phase. About 1 in 10 women who had not reported anxiety symptoms at 5-year FU did so at the subsequent 14-year FU. In prospective analyses, we did not find significant association of diabetes with negative transition (no anxiety to anxiety at subsequent phase) or with positive history of anxiety symptom, but an increasing risk was evident. Women with persistent symptoms had a 1.85-fold greater risk of diabetes (95% CI: 1.18-2.90). The cross-sectional analysis did not produce significant results. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations, this study provides insight into the long-term association between events of anxiety and the risk of diabetes across the reproductive life of women. However, the evidence is not strong enough to support a direct effect of anxiety in causing diabetes.

Quality of life (QoL) and International Normalized Ratio (INR) control of patients attending anticoagulation clinics.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate association between quality of life (QoL) and International Normalized Ratio (INR) control, with the secondary aim of assessing QoL using generic and anticoagulation-specific, the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale (DASS). STUDY DESIGN: This study assessed anticoagulation related QoL at three time intervals in two groups of patients on long-term warfarin therapy. METHODS: Data of 326 randomly sampled patients (163 patients each in DASS and SF-12 groups) who had been on warfarin therapy for at least one year at anticoagulation clinics were analysed. QoL was assessed at three time intervals: at the start, six months and one year of warfarin therapy. Indications and target INR ranges and subjects INR values were recorded. Time in Therapeutic Range (TTR) was estimated for four subject subgroups, based on target ranges of INR for clustered indications. RESULTS: Of the total, 43% of the subjects were aged between 50 and 64 years, and 51% were female. DASS assessed subjects older than 35 years perceived significant decrease in overall mean scores of anticoagulation related QoL, whilst all SF-12 assessed subjects perceived an increase in QoL. The mean percentage days in range for all INR target range subgroups did not exceed more than 60% but there was only a weak correlation (Rs = 0.104, P > 0.05) between INR control and overall QoL. CONCLUSION: Malaysian urban outpatients on warfarin treatment longer than one year report a significant overall decrease in QoL, as measured using a validated condition-specific instrument. These patients appeared to adapt well to lifestyle limitations imposed by long-term anticoagulation.

Ethnomedicinal plants of Kathua district, J&K, India.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Natural products, especially those derived from plants, continue to provide new and important leads in the drug discovery process. The first step in drug discovery is to document material traditionally used to treat an ailment. Documentation of such knowledge will lead to its conservation and facilitate future research on medicinal plant safety and efficacy to validate traditional use. The present study was undertaken with an aim to document the ethnomedicinal plants of Kathua district. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data were quantitatively analysed using indices like use-value (UV), informant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (Fl). RESULTS: A total of 112 informants (78 males and 34 females) were interviewed. They were using a total of 197 plants from 87 families and 174 genera for the ethnomedicinal purposes. The most dominant families were Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Lamiaceae. The most important plants of the study site on the basis of use-value were Mentha longifolia, Curcuma domestica, Zingiber officinale, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Adiantum capillus-veneris, Viola odorata, Mentha arvensis and Acorus calamus. The diabetes treatment had the maximum consensus (0.96 ICF) among the informants. Other important categories with high ICF values were gastrointestinal disorders and respiratory disorders. Total 23 species recorded 100% Fl. Medicinal plants with high Fl were Brassica rapa, Plumbago zeylanica, Punica granatum, Catharanthus rosea, Tinospora cordifolia, Acacia catechu, Aegle marmelos, Abrus precatorius, Oxalis corniculata, Nicotiana plumbaginifolia, Achillea millefolium, Tamarindus indica, Taxus baccata and Butea monosperma. CONCLUSION: The plants with high UV and Fl like M. longifolia, C. domestica, Z. officinale, O. tenuiflorum, A. capillus-veneris, A. calamus, B. rapa, P. zeylanica, C. rosea, T. cordifolia, A. catechu, O. corniculata, N. plumbaginifolia, A. millefolium, T. indica, T. baccata and B. monosperma should be analysed for pharmacological components and discovery of new drugs.

Hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome: an audit of one thousand adult patients.

BACKGROUND: Gut-focused hypnotherapy improves the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with benefits being sustained for many years. Despite this, the technique has not been widely adopted by healthcare systems, possibly due to relatively small numbers in published studies and uncertainty about how it should be provided. AIM: To review the effect of hypnotherapy in a large cohort of refractory IBS patients. METHODS: One thousand IBS patients fulfilling Rome II criteria, mean age 51.6 years (range 17-91 years), 80% female, receiving 12 sessions of hypnotherapy over 3 months, were studied. The primary outcome was a 50 point reduction in the IBS Symptom Severity Score. The fall in scores for Noncolonic Symptoms, Quality of Life and Anxiety or Depression, were secondary outcomes. The Federal Drug Administration's recommended outcome of a 30% or more reduction in abdominal pain was also recorded. RESULTS: Overall, 76% met the primary outcome which was higher in females (females: 80%, males: 62%, P < 0.001) and those with anxiety (anxious: 79%, non-anxious: 71%, P = 0.010). The mean reduction in other scores was: IBS Symptom Severity Score, 129 points (P < 0.001), Noncolonic Symptom Score, 65 (P < 0.001) and Quality of Life Score, 66 (P < 0.001). Sixty-seven per cent reported a 30% or more reduction in abdominal pain scores. Pain days fell from 18 to 9 per month. Patients with anxiety and depression fell from 63% to 34% and 25% to 12% respectively (P < 0.001). Outcome was unaffected by bowel habit subtype. CONCLUSION: These results provide further evidence that gut-focused hypnotherapy is an effective intervention for refractory IBS.