Faculty perceptions on one-best MCQ development.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the perception of faculty of undergraduate medical and dental programmes in various private and public sector institutes regarding their Readiness, Attitude and Institutional support for developing high-quality one-best MCQs. METHODS: A validated questionnaire was designed for recording demographic data and responses related to Readiness, Attitude and Institutional support based on 5-point Likert scale and multiple options. Scores for items on Likert scale were categorised (Readiness: poor 0-12, good 13-24, Attitude: negative 0-12, positive 13-24, Institutional support: no support 0-12, highly supportive 13-24). The individual and overall scores related to Readiness, Attitude and Institutional support were compared to demographic characteristics using Independent samples and Paired samples t-test as appropriate. Data was analysed using SPSS version 25.0. P-value of <0.05 (two-sided) was considered significant. RESULTS: With a response rate of 87.5%, the mean scores for Institutional support were higher (14.45 ± 4.73) compared to those for Readiness (13.39 ± 4.51) and Attitude (12.54 ± 4.59). Responses to multiple choice items revealed that faculty considered MCQ writing workshops to be effective while facing most difficulty in formulating scenario and homogenous options. Most faculty reported no commitment issues but desired on-job protected time for item development. No significant association was found between the scores and age group, gender, qualification, institute type, department and designation of participants. CONCLUSION: Overall, the faculty were found to be motivated and committed to developing high-quality one-best MCQs. With continued institutional support, faculty can be expected to further engage in writing such items.

Implications of genetic variation of common Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and ABC Transporters among the Pakistani Population.

Genetic polymorphism of drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters may influence drug response. The frequency varies substantially between ethnicities thus having implications on appropriate selection and dosage of various drugs in different populations. The distribution of genetic polymorphisms in healthy Pakistanis has so far not been described. In this study, 155 healthy adults (98 females) were included from all districts of Karachi. DNA was extracted from saliva and genotyped for relevant SNVs in CYP1A1, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 as well as ALDH3A1, GSTA1, ABCB1 and ABCC2. About 64% of the participants were born to parents who were unrelated to each other. There was generally a higher prevalence (p < 0.05) of variant alleles of CYP450 1A2, 2B6, 2C19, 3A5, ALDH3A1, GSTM1 as well as ABCB1 and ABCC2 in this study cohort than in other ethnicities reported in the HapMap database. In contrast, the prevalence of variant alleles was lower in GSTA1. Therefore, in the Pakistani population sample from Karachi a significantly different prevalence of variant drug metabolizing enzymes and ABC transporters was observed as compared to other ethnicities, which could have putative clinical consequences on drug efficacy and safety.