Evaluation of Urinary Tract Infection following Corticosteroid Therapy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Exacerbation.

The first treatment for multiple sclerosis exacerbation is usually short-term intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP), with or without a regimen of oral prednisone taper (OPT). This study aims to evaluate the effects of IVMP and OPT in comparison with IVMP alone in raising the risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) and posttreatment improvement of urinary tract symptoms in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. This double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 56 people with multiple sclerosis relapse who had undergone methylprednisolone for 5 days. Patients were randomly split into two groups: oral prednisolone and placebo (tapering for 20 days). Demographic data, duration of multiple sclerosis, urinary tract symptoms, the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, and urine data were analyzed. The incidence of UTI in the intervention and control groups did not differ significantly (p=560). However, the improvement of urinary tract symptoms in the intervention group was significantly more favorable than in the control group (p ≤ 0.001). Furthermore, administering OPT after IVMP did not increase the risk of UTI occurrence in patients with multiple sclerosis exacerbation. The urine analysis results did not show any differences at baseline and after the corticosteroid tapering regimen. Due to the risk of infection by corticosteroids, it is no longer necessary to do further urinary screening in this group of patients.

Increasing the risk of spontaneous abortion and major malformations in newborns following use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy: A systematic review and updated meta-analysis.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently used antidepressants during pregnancy. There are conflicting results about their influence on pregnancy outcomes. The goal of this study was to update our previous meta-analysis about pregnancy outcomes following exposure to SSRIs. For this purpose, all relevant databases were searched from 1990 to March 2012 for studies investigating the pregnancy outcomes following exposure to any therapeutic dosage of any SSRI (fluoxetine, paroxetine, citalopram, escitalopram, sertraline, fluvoxamine) during pregnancy. Types of outcome investigated were spontaneous abortion, major malformations, cardiovascular malformations, and minor malformations. A total of 25 studies met our criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OD) values are 1.87 (95% CI: 1.5 to 2.33, P< 0.0001) for spontaneous abortion, 1.272 (95% CI: 1.098 to 1.474, P = 0.0014) for major malformations, 1.192 (95% CI: 0.39 to 3.644, P= 0.7578) for cardiovascular malformations, and 1.36 (95% CI: 0.61 to 3.04, P= 0.4498) for minor malformations. The results demonstrated that SSRIs increase the risk of spontaneous abortion and major malformations during pregnancy while they don't increase the risk of cardiovascular malformations and minor malformations. Our previous meta-analysis only showed an increase in the risk of spontaneous abortion following the use of SSRIs during pregnancy. This might be due to increase in the number of studies included or addition of two new SSRIs (citalopram and escitalopram). The message to researchers is to try considering SSRIs individually during pregnancy to reduce heterogeneity, although all are aware of inevitable limitations to study on pregnant mothers.

Efficacy and safety of oral prednisolone tapering following intravenous methyl prednisolone in patients with multiple sclerosis relapses: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Relapse is one of the main features of multiple sclerosis (MS). Corticosteroids are the first line of management during MS relapse. Since tapering or non-tapering prednisolone after corticosteroid pulse has been a controversial issue, this clinical trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the tapering regimen. METHODS: Having been treated by intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) pulse, sixty-six patients with MS-relapse were randomly assigned to receive oral prednisolone tapering (OPT) or placebo. The regimen was administered in line with the study protocol and the dose was tapered over 20 days. Demographics and symptoms, impact on activities of daily living (ADL), and management procedures were recorded according to Assessing Relapse in Multiple Sclerosis (ARMS) Questionnaire. The incidence of adverse events was assessed using the same questionnaire. Patients' disability improvement was assessed using the Extended Disability Scale (EDSS) during relapse, and over the first, third, sixth months following treatment. RESULTS: As shown by the results of the questionnaire, 75% reported that their ADL was not or minimally affected by OPT and there was no significant difference in terms of ADL after treatment between the two groups (p=0.3). The effect of treatment on return to the previous state of health (RSH) showed that there were no differences between the two groups of the study (p=0.5). The improvement of disability in the two groups of oral prednisolone and placebo did not indicate a difference in terms of EDSS in the first and third and six months (p = 0.5, p = 0.9, p=0.3, respectively). Also, the occurrence of some side effects such as weight gain (p = 0.000) and increased appetite (p = 0.004) was higher in the OPT group. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study revealed that the efficacy of an OPT after a corticosteroid pulse is non-superior to IVMP plus only in case the safety and tolerability profile are comparable.

Descriptive analysis of a clinical pharmacy intervention to improve the appropriate use of stress ulcer prophylaxis in a hospital infectious disease ward.

BACKGROUND: Stress ulcers are acute superficial inflammatory lesions of the gastric mucosa induced when an individual is subjected to unusually high physiologic demands. In recent years, use of acid suppression therapy (AST) for stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) in inpatient settings other than intensive care has become increasingly common, leading to increased drug cost and an avoidable increased risk of adverse events such as hospitalacquired pneumonia. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of a clinical pharmacist intervention including AST prescribing and adherence to a SUP guideline that was developed by clinical pharmacists for use in the infectious disease ward of a teaching hospital based on the 1999 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) guidelines for use of SUP. METHODS: This was an exploratory, prospective pre- and post-intervention study of all patients admitted to the infectious disease ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital, the major referral hospital for infectious disease patients in Iran, which is affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The study intervention consisted of the use of an internal guideline for SUP that was prepared by clinical pharmacists in accordance with ASHP guidelines, followed by education provided to the physicians who monitored and visited the hospitalized patients in the infectious disease ward. For the 4-month pre-intervention (August 1, 2008, to December 1, 2008) and post-intervention (February 1, 2009, to June 1, 2009) periods, the following data were collected: admitting diagnoses, number and type of SUP risk factors for AST, and type of AST medication used (omeprazole or ranitidine). Exclusions included (a) patients using AST for appropriate gastrointestinal diagnoses at admission (n = 4 in each period), and (b) patients who died during the hospital stay because of a cause other than a gastrointestinal disorder (n = 3 pre-intervention and n = 1 post-intervention). Rates of AST use were measured for the sample overall, and for patients with and without an indication for SUP. Appropriate use was defined as 1 primary (absolute) risk factor (i.e., coagulopathy, mechanical ventilation, or history of gastrointestinal bleed in the last 12 months) or 2 or more secondary (relative) risk factors (e.g., use of heparin). Pre- and post-intervention results were compared using the Pearson chi-square test. RESULTS: AST use declined from 80.9% (212 of 262) infectious disease ward patients in the pre-intervention period to 47.1% (113 of 240) patients in the post-intervention period (P < 0.001). Of 23 patients in the preintervention period with an indication for SUP according to our ASHP-based guideline, 78.3% (n = 18) received AST versus 85.7% (n = 12 of 14) in the post-intervention period (P = 0.575). Of the patients without an indication for SUP, 194 of 239 (81.2%) received AST in the pre-intervention period versus 101 of 226 (44.7%) in the post-intervention period (P < 0.001). Of the patients who received AST, 194 of 212 (91.5%) did not have an indication for SUP in the pre-intervention period versus 101 of 113 (89.4%) in the post-intervention period (P = 0.528). CONCLUSION: In this pre- and post-intervention study without a comparison group, the introduction by pharmacists of a treatment guideline for SUP in the infectious disease ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital was associated with reduction in use of AST overall and in patients without an absolute indication for SUP. However, there was no significant change in either the proportion of patients with an indication for SUP who received AST or in the proportion who received AST without an indication for SUP.

Improvement of knowledge, attitude and perception of healthcare workers about ADR, a pre- and post-clinical pharmacists' interventional study.

Purpose Healthcare workers have a main role in detection, assessment and spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and improvement of their related knowledge, attitude and perception is essential. The goal of this study was evaluation of clinical pharmacists' interventions in improvement of knowledge, attitude and perception of healthcare workers about ADRs in a teaching referral hospital, Tehran, Iran. Method Changes in knowledge, attitude and perception of healthcare workers of Imam teaching hospital about ADRs were evaluated before and after clinical pharmacists' interventions including workshops, meetings and presentations. Results From the 100 participated subjects, 82 of them completed the study. 51% of the health workers have been aware of the Iranian Pharmacovigilance Center at the ministry of health before intervention and after that all the participants knew this centre. About awareness and detection of ADRs in patients, 69 (84.1%) healthcare workers recognised at least one, and following interventions, it was improved to 73 (89%). Only seven (8.5%) subjects have reported ADRs in before intervention phase that were increased significantly to 18 (22%) after intervention. Conclusion Clinical pharmacists' interventions were successful in improvement of healthcare workers' knowledge, attitude and perception about ADRs and spontaneous reporting in our hospital.