COVID-19: como informações baseadas em evidências auxiliaram um hospital terciário durante o primeiro ano pandêmico / COVID-19: how evidence-based information supported a tertiary hospital during the first pandemic year

Introdução: Durante a pandemia de COVID-19, a necessidade por uma informação confiável, rápida e precisa desafiou os profissionais de saúde de todo o mundo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar e comparar as solicitações dos profissionais da saúde realizadas a um Centro de Informação Sobre Medicamentos (CIM) em um ano pré-pandêmico e durante o primeiro ano pandêmico. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo quantitativo e retrospectivo, que analisou as perguntas realizadas ao CIM do Instituto Central do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (ICHCFMUSP) quanto ao seu assunto, classificação ATC dos medicamentos envolvidos e profissionais solicitantes. Resultados: Os resultados demonstram que, de maneira geral, durante o primeiro ano pandêmico houve um aumento de 454 perguntas (66,13%; p < 0,01). As dúvidas se referiam principalmente a questões de administração, estabilidade/compatibilidade e padronização do medicamento na instituição, sendo o farmacêutico o profissional que realizou maior número de questionamentos. Ao seccionar as perguntas, verificou-se que a maioria das informações solicitadas se referiram a agentes infecciosos, agentes que atuam no sangue/órgãos hematopoiéticos e sistema nervoso. Conclusão: Considerando o cenário pandêmico, com sobrecarga dos serviços de saúde, contratação em massa de novos profissionais e pouca disponibilidade de informações com embasamento científico, as evidências fornecidas pelo CIM, aliadas ao entendimento do quadro clínico de cada paciente, com certeza auxiliaram em um melhor desfecho clínico, bem como foram essenciais no uso racional de medicamentos no combate a pandemia de COVID-19.

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic the need for reliable, fast and accurate information challenged healthcare professionals around the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the requests made by health professionals to a Drug Information Center (DIC) in a pre-pandemic year and during the first year of the pandemic. Methods: This is a quantitative and retrospective study that analyzed the solicitations made to the DIC of the Instituto Central do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (ICHCFMUSP) regarding its subject, ATC classification of drugs involved and requesting professionals. Results: The results show that, in general, during the first pandemic year there was an increase of 454 questions (66.13%; p < 0.01). The questions referred mainly to issues of administration, stability/compatibility and standardization of the medicines in the institution, being the pharmacist the professional who asked the most number of questions. When sectioning the questions, it was found that most of the information requested referred to infectious agents, agents that act on the blood/hematopoietic organs and the nervous system. Conclusion: Considering the pandemic scenario, with an overload of health services, large number of hires of new professionals and lack of availability of scientifically based information, the evidence provided by the DIC, combined with the understanding of clinical condition of each patient, certainly helped in a better outcome for each patient, as well as being essential in the rational use of medicines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online information discrepancies regarding safety of medicine use during pregnancy and lactation: an IMI ConcePTION study.

Background: Inconsistencies in information on safety of medicine use during pregnancy and lactation can result in sub-optimal treatment for pregnant and lactating women, risks to the fetus or child and unnecessary weaning off breastfeeding. The objective of this study was to analyze information discrepancies regarding medicine use during pregnancy and lactation between on-line sources for patients and health care professionals (HCPs) in four European languages.Research design and methods: The medicines analyzed were ibuprofen, ondansetron, olanzapine, fingolimod, methylphenidate and adalimumab. Recommendations were classified into different data source categories, for patients and for HCPs, and compared between the data source categories for each medicine and language.Results: For patients, 11/24 (46%) and 4/24 (17%) comparisons of the pregnancy and lactation recommendations, respectively, were consistent between all sources. The corresponding figures for HCP-sources were 13/24 (54%) and 5/24 (21%). Regulatory sources had generally more restrictive recommendations. Teratology Information Services (TIS) centers' recommendations for medicine use during pregnancy and lactation were consistent in 25/27 (93%) and 15/22 (68%) of cases respectively.Conclusion: Discrepancies between online information sources regarding medicine use during pregnancy and lactation are common, especially for lactation. TIS centers recommendations were more aligned. Additional work is needed to harmonize information within and between countries to avoid conflicting messages.

Informes de posicionamiento terapéutico: experiencia en España en el periodo 2013-2019 / Therapeutic positioning reports: Experience in Spain during the period 2013-2019

OBJETIVO: Describir las características de los informes de posicionamiento terapéutico (IPT) publicados en España en el periodo 2013-2019. Diseño y fuente de datos: Revisión sistemática de todos los IPT publicados en la página web de la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS). Selección de estudios: Se incluyeron todos los IPT realizados desde mayo de 2013, hasta marzo de 2019. Extracción de datos: Las principales variables recogidas fueron los grupos terapéuticos evaluados, el número de IPT, el tiempo de elaboración, la existencia de restricciones a las indicaciones autorizadas y la información sobre la eficiencia. RESULTADOS: En el periodo evaluado se realizaron 214 IPT, con un tiempo medio de elaboración de 8,8 meses, casi tres veces el objetivo de 3 meses planteado inicialmente. El 57% de los IPT establecieron restricciones de uso respecto a las indicaciones de sus fichas técnicas. El 26% de los IPT hicieron referencia a la existencia de datos económicos, aunque ninguno incluyó detalles sobre la eficiencia. Se actualizaron el 10% de los IPT. CONCLUSIONES: Para que los IPT puedan cumplir su objetivo de mejorar la eficiencia del proceso de evaluación y la coherencia en las decisiones sobre precio, reembolso y financiación de medicamentos por parte del SNS es preciso que se cumplan los plazos establecidos para su publicación, se incorpore sistemáticamente información sobre la eficiencia de los fármacos y se actualicen los informes con la nueva información generada

OBJECTIVE: Describe the characteristics of the therapeutic positioning reports (TPRs) published in Spain in the period 2013-2019. Design and data source: Systematic review of all TPRs published in the website of the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS). Selection of studies: All TPRs published since May 2013, until March 2019 Data extraction: The main variables collected were the therapeutic groups assessed, the number of TPRs, the time of elaboration, the existence of restrictions versus the authorized indications and the information on the efficiency of medicines. RESULTS: During the period under review, 214 TPRs were carried out, with an average production time of 8.8 months, almost three times the objective of 3-month initially set. 57% of the TPRs established restrictions of use with respect to the approved indications. 26% of TPRs referred to the existence of economic data, although none included details on the efficiency. 10% of TPRs were updated. CONCLUSIONS: For TPRs to meet their objective of improving the efficiency of the assessment process and the consistency in the decisions on price, reimbursement and financing of medicines by the SNS, the deadlines established for publication must be met, incorporating systematically information on the efficiency of the drugs and including periodic updates with the new information generated

Association between FDA and EMA expedited approval programs and therapeutic value of new medicines: retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the therapeutic value of new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the association between these ratings and regulatory approval through expedited programs. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: New drugs approved by the FDA and EMA between 2007 and 2017, with follow-up through 1 April 2020. DATA SOURCES: Therapeutic value was measured using ratings of new drugs by five independent organizations (Prescrire and health authorities of Canada, France, Germany, and Italy). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of new drugs rated as having high therapeutic value; association between high therapeutic value rating and expedited status. RESULTS: From 2007 through 2017, the FDA and EMA approved 320 and 268 new drugs, respectively, of which 181 (57%) and 39 (15%) qualified for least one expedited program. Among 267 new drugs with a therapeutic value rating, 84 (31%) were rated as having high therapeutic value by at least one organization. Compared with non-expedited drugs, a greater proportion of expedited drugs were rated as having high therapeutic value among both FDA approvals (45% (69/153) v 13% (15/114); P<0.001) and EMA approvals (67% (18/27) v 27% (65/240); P<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of expedited program for a drug being independently rated as having high therapeutic value were 82% (95% confidence interval 72% to 90%) and 54% (47% to 62%), respectively, for the FDA, compared with 25.3% (16.4% to 36.0%) and 90.2% (85.0% to 94.1%) for the EMA. CONCLUSIONS: Less than a third of new drugs approved by the FDA and EMA over the past decade were rated as having high therapeutic value by at least one of five independent organizations. Although expedited drugs were more likely than non-expedited drugs to be highly rated, most expedited drugs approved by the FDA but not the EMA were rated as having low therapeutic value.

[Relevance between Methods of Obtaining Drug Information and the Utilization of the Information in Community Pharmacies -Research on Awareness of Drug Information of "Increased Risk of Developing Diabetes in Patients Treated with HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors" in Community Pharmacies].

Lipid lowering therapy using statins prevents the risk of cardiovascular events. However, since the year 2000, there have been some reports that statins increased the risk of developing diabetes (SIRDD). It is socially demanded that pharmacists must apply pharmacotherapy to patients by utilizing drug information like the above, such as selecting appropriate drugs and providing correct drug information. Accordingly, pharmacists must correct drug information, and they should analyze and evaluate such information. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey for pharmacists in community pharmacies with an aim to verify relevance between methods of obtaining drug information and the utilization of the information of "SIRDD" as a subject. We sent a questionnaire by letter to 1522 pharmacists in Fukushima and Mie prefecture, and received the results of the questionnaire from them using "Google forms" that is software to make web questionnaire and letters. We obtained responses from 356 (23.4%) pharmacists out of 1522. The number of responses from the pharmacists that "know" the information of "SIRDD" was 135 (37.9%). We found that these pharmacists obtained the information by websites of pharmaceutical companies, m3, Inc. (Portal site for medical professionals), and Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), as the sources of information. Our results suggested that pharmacists responded that they "know" "SIRDD" utilized websites as a quick information tool. The difference in network environments will relate to the difference of providable medical quality. So, it is very important to maintain appropriate network environment in cooperation with medical institutions, professional associations and the government.

Physicians' and pharmacists' perception and practice of hospital pharmacist professional role in Egypt.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate physicians' and pharmacists' perceptions of the importance of pharmacists' role in healthcare in Egypt, and actual delivery of these roles in practice. Identifying any differences and inconsistencies between these will inform future strategies that maximize pharmacists' professional contribution to hospital practice. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was distributed to a convenience sample of physicians (500) and pharmacists (500) practicing in selected private or public hospitals in Egypt. The main sections of the questionnaire comprised statements that pertained to physicians'/pharmacists' views on the importance of pharmacists' roles and their actual delivery in practice. KEY FINDINGS: In this study, physicians showed low scores for both the importance of and the delivery of advanced patient-facing clinical pharmacy roles such as suggesting prescription medications, and designing treatment plans. In comparison, pharmacists were more positive on both of these aspects of their roles. High mean scores were reported by the physicians for pharmacist's traditional roles such as patient counselling, assessing compliance, preventing medication errors and treating minor illnesses. Both physicians and pharmacists reported poor pharmacists practice as drug information resources despite their high perception of the importance of that role. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that in hospitals in Egypt, there are significant differences between physicians' and pharmacists' perception and practice, and pharmacists' clinical skills are underutilized in health care.

Evaluation of the experiences and needs of users of a drug information resources website.

OBJECTIVE: This article describes the evaluation of the experiences and needs of users of the Drug Information Resources (DIR) website. The DIR website attracts traffic and use from around the world, with the highest number of users in Canada and the United States. METHODS: An online questionnaire was developed through use of a literature review and Google Analytics data. Face validity testing and test-retest reliability were completed prior to releasing the questionnaire. RESULTS: Although the Google Analytics data showed that the site is used internationally, most respondents were Canadian students. They used the site for academic and clinical purposes and reported it was easy to use, was well organized, and included required resources, and they would recommend it to others. CONCLUSION: The DIR website was found to be a valuable resource for educational and clinical use. Future studies will aim to obtain input from international users.

Incorporation of a mock drug information telephone call exercise in a health-systems pharmacy laboratory.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hospital pharmacists routinely receive and answer drug information questions via telephone while performing order verification. This report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a mock learning experience for student performance of these tasks in a health-systems pharmacy laboratory course. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: An active learning skills-based exercise involving students receiving and answering a standardized drug information question via telephone during an order verification activity, referred to as a cold-call exercise, was developed and implemented. Data collected included student grades on a baseline assessment, the cold call exercise, order verification exercises, and student perceptions from a voluntary post-exercise survey. Student performance on the cold-call exercise was further evaluated via individual sections of the cold-call rubric. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis of student opinion and an estimate of faculty time were also executed. FINDINGS: Student grades on the cold call and order verification exercises were 86.14% and 88.8%, respectively. Students often failed to ask category-specific questions because they did not categorize the ultimate question appropriately. Students found the activity organized and applicable. Time dedicated to creation was extensive, but execution and grading were reasonable. SUMMARY: Students performed well on the drug information exercise as well as the order verification component. Students and faculty enjoyed the experience, and students found the exercise relevant and challenging. This exercise could be implemented into any pharmacy curriculum in order to prepare students using authentic learning experiences.

Honeybee Stings in the Era of Killer Bees: Anaphylaxis and Toxic Envenomation.

BACKGROUND: Twenty-six years after the arrival of "killer bees" in Arizona, the entire state with the exception of high elevations in the north is populated with this bee variety and 11 people have died at the scene of massive bee attacks. METHODS: Because of the aggressive behavior of these bees we studied bee stings reported to the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center. The center received 399 calls regarding 312 victims of bee stings from January 2017 to June 2019. Calls originated from private residences and emergency centers. RESULTS: Stings occurred at victims' home residences in 272 (84.7%) of cases and 24 (7.5%) in public areas; 251 people suffered 1 sting; 42 individuals, 2-10 stings, 4 had 11-49 stings, and 13 individuals had >50 stings (so-called massive stinging). Three individuals were admitted to intensive care units (ICU) and one 35-year-old man died of anaphylaxis after 1 sting; moderate clinical effects occurred in 32 individuals including 6 admitted to the hospital but not in the intensive care unit. Anaphylaxis occurred in 30 (9.6%) of individuals, 16 receiving 1 sting. Toxic effects, tachycardia, elevated creatinine, or rhabdomyolysis occurred in 13 (4.2%) individuals. CONCLUSIONS: In the past, individuals stung more than 50 times were beekeepers working with European honeybees, whereas, in the current era, single as well as massive stings are the result of feral "killer bees." This change in epidemiology requires a new approach to sting victims: those with massive stinging should be evaluated and observed for anaphylaxis and serial laboratory values obtained for days to detect the toxic effects of envenomation.

Survey of drug information centers in the United States-2018.

PURPOSE: To provide a current directory of drug information centers (DICs) in the United States and present information about their characteristics, activities and services, and networking activities. METHODS: In February 2018, an electronic 23-question survey was delivered to 118 contacts on a distribution list compiled from previous directories of DICs, responses to listserv messages, and an Internet search. DICs, defined as formal centers dedicated to providing drug information services, including but not limited to responding to drug information requests, were asked questions about their characteristics, activities and services, drug information requests, and networking activities. RESULTS: The response rate was 79% (93 of 118 DICs). Of the 93 respondents, 82 (88%) met the definition of a DIC and were included in the directory. Of the 82 included DICs, 37 (45%) belonged to a university or college, while 36 (44%) belonged to a medical center or hospital. Seventy percent of the DICs (n = 57) had been in existence for more than 20 years. Of the 81 respondents reporting activities performed at the DICs, precepting pharmacy students (n = 79, 98%) and training pharmacy residents and/or fellows (n = 68, 84%) were most commonly reported. Nearly 90% reported that answering drug information questions was central to the DIC operations. Most DICs (n = 52, 65%) indicated receiving an average of 50 requests or less on a monthly basis. DICs reported a variety of electronic means of communicating with the DIC community, although 16 (21%) of the 77 respondents reported no need to do so. CONCLUSION: The survey identified 82 DICs that collectively provide a variety of services to their clienteles. The DIC directory published herein should facilitate networking among DICs.

Trends in the receipt of medicines information among Finnish adults in 1999-2014: a nationwide repeated cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine long-term trends in the receipt of medicines information (MI) among adult medicine users from 1999 to 2014. DESIGN: Repeated cross-sectional postal survey from the years 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008-2014. SETTING: Each study year, a new nationally representative sample of 5000 Finns aged 15-64 years was drawn from the Population Register Centre of Finland. PARTICIPANTS: The range of annual respondents varied from 2545 to 3371 and response rates from 53% to 67%. Of the total responses (n=29 465), 64% were from medicine users (n=18 862, ranging by year from 58% to 68%). OUTCOME MEASURES: Receipt of information on medicines in use within 12 months prior to the survey from a given list of consumer MI sources available in Finland. RESULTS: Physicians, community pharmacists and package leaflets were the most common MI sources throughout the study period. Receipt of MI increased most from the Internet (from 1% in 1999 to 16% in 2014), while decreased most from physicians (62% to 47%) and package leaflets (44% to 34%), and remained stable from community pharmacists (46% to 45%) and nurses (14% to 14%). In 1999, of the medicine users 4% did not report receipt of MI from any of the sources listed in the survey, while this proportion had remarkably increased to 28% in 2014. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare professionals and package leaflets had still a dominating importance in 2014 despite the growing number of MI sources over time, but still a minority of adult medicine users reported receiving MI via the Internet in 2014. Worrying is that the proportion of adult medicine users who did not receive MI from any of the sources became seven fold during the study period.

A comparison of potential psychiatric drug interactions from six drug interaction database programs.

Harmful drug-drug interactions (DDI) frequently include psychiatric drugs. Drug interaction database programs are viewed as a primary tool to alert physicians of potential DDI, but may provide different results as there is no standard to define DDI. This study compared the category of potential DDI provided by 6 commercial drug interaction database programs (3 subscription, 3 open access) for 100 drug interaction pairs. The pairs involved 94 different drugs; 67 included a psychiatric and non-psychiatric drug, and 33 included two psychiatric drugs. The category assigned to the potential DDI by the 6 programs was compared using percent agreement and Fleiss' kappa interrater reliability measure. The overall percent agreement for the category of potential DDI for the 100 drug interaction pairs was 66%. The Fleiss kappa overall interrater agreement was fair. The kappa agreement was substantial for interaction pairs with any severe category rating, and fair for interaction pairs with any major category rating. The category of potential DDI for drug interaction pairs including psychiatric drugs often differs among drug interaction database programs. Modern technology allows easy access to several interaction database programs. When assistance from a drug interaction database program is needed, the physician should check more than one program.

Drug information centres and their provision of decision support: The Scandinavian experience.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Appraisal of drug information centres (DICs) is mainly by word of mouth communication and surveys of overall user satisfaction. Efforts to study the impact of this type of informatics and decision support systematically are generally lacking within the healthcare system. COMMENT: Scandinavian DICs question-answering databases are relevant sources for identifying recurring problems in pharmacotherapy, including drug safety questions, and for re-use of previous answers. Recent studies in this setting have shown that high-quality answers demand easily accessible literature sources, skills in literature search and critical assessment of the retrieved documentation. Furthermore, patient-specific advice in clinical cases presented within a requested time frame is appraised by clinicians. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSIONS: Effective decision support by Scandinavian DICs depends on skills among staff and technological resources. Our experience could motivate further studies investigating methods and evaluating the impact of DICs in the healthcare system.

Community pharmacists' perceptions towards online health information in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Objective: The current study was carried out to assess community pharmacists' perceptions towards online health information, to examine the type of information seek from Internet and to identify the barriers when they retrieved online health information. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey whereby all (300) community pharmacists practicing in Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were targeted for data collection. A 35-itemed questionnaire was posted out along with a stamped addressed envelope, invitation letter and support letter. Responses were also accepted via online response. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v. 20.0. Results: A total of 67 responses were received with a response rate of 22.3%. The top three frequently health information searched by respondents were medicine information, general healthcare information and disease-related information. High number of respondents agreed that Internet had too much health information to scan through. Gender (p=0.018) showed significant association with visiting established health websites. Meanwhile, statistical significant was observed between age and searching medicine information (p=0.037), undertaking online continuing professional development (p=0.023), as well as searching clinical guidelines (p=0.047). Respondents' education level showed significant association with uncertainty about the reliability of online health information (p=0.023) and unsure about filtering the information (p=0.007). Conclusions Majority of the respondents expressed positive perception with the use of Internet for health information. The findings of the current study showed the widely use of Internet for health information among community pharmacists. Hence, this study provides opportunity for future works to further examine community pharmacist's retrieval and appraisal skills for online health information, as well as application of this information into their daily pharmacy practice

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Internet as a source of medicines information (MI) among frequent internet users.

BACKGROUND: The internet is widely and increasingly used to search for health information. Previous studies have focused mainly on health information on the internet and not specifically on medicines information (MI). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the internet as a source of MI compared to other sources of MI; to identify those who use the internet as a source of MI; and to describe patterns of use of the internet as a source of MI. METHODS: A cross-sectional design employed a web-based questionnaire posted by patients' and other organizations as well as pharmacies on their websites during six weeks in the beginning of 2014. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations of background variables to the use of different MI sources. RESULTS: The most frequently used MI sources among respondents (n = 2489) were package leaflets (90%), pharmacists (83%), physicians (72%), and the internet (68%). According to a multivariate analysis, internet use for MI was associated with female gender, age <65 years, higher education, daily use of the internet, and continuous use of vitamins or herbals. MI was most commonly searched from a Finnish health portal (56%) and websites of pharmacies (41%). Of the respondents, nearly half (43%) used search engines to find information from the internet. The names of the medicinal product, symptom or disease were the most commonly used search terms. CONCLUSIONS: Well-educated, young women tend to search MI on the internet. Health care professionals should discuss reliable MI websites and tools that can help patients evaluate the reliability of information.

Impact on process results of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) applied to medication use: overview of systematic reviews

Objective: The purpose of this overview (systematic review of systematic reviews) is to evaluate the impact of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) applied to medication use in the care process. Methods: A search for systematic reviews that address CDSS was performed on Medline following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Cochrane recommendations. Terms related to CDSS and systematic reviews were used in combination with Boolean operators and search field tags to build the electronic search strategy. There was no limitation of date or language for inclusion. We included revisions that investigated, as a main or secondary objective, changes in process outcomes. The Revised Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (R-AMSTAR) score was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. Results: The search retrieved 954 articles. Five articles were added through manual search, totaling an initial sample of 959 articles. After screening and reading in full, 44 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria. In the medication-use processes where CDSS was used, the most common stages were prescribing (n=38 (86.36%) and administering (n=12 (27.27%)). Most of the systematic reviews demonstrated improvement in the health care process (30/44 - 68.2%). The main positive results were related to improvement of the quality of prescription by the physicians (14/30 - 46.6%) and reduction of errors in prescribing (5/30 - 16.6%). However, the quality of the studies was poor, according to the score used. Conclusion: CDSSs represent a promising technology to optimize the medication-use process, especially related to improvement in the quality of prescriptions and reduction of prescribing errors, although higher quality studies are needed to establish the predictors of success in these systems (AU)

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The Needs and Resources of Drug Information at Community Pharmacies in Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Community pharmacists are in a key position to provide information on drugs and thus promote the rational use of drugs. OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to determine the needs and resources of drug information in community pharmacies. METHODS: A prospective institution based cross-sectional study was carried out and data were collected on 48 community pharmacists in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, using interviewer administered structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Almost all pharmacists (N = 47, 97.9%) often receive drug related queries and these were mainly from consumers (N = 41, 85.4%). While most questions relate to drug price (N = 29, 60.4%) and dosage (N = 21, 43.8%), the information resources mainly referred to were drug package inserts and national standard treatment guidelines. However, limited availability of information resources as well as limited ability to retrieve relevant information influenced the practice of pharmacists. Female pharmacists claimed better use of different information resources than males (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Community pharmacists in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia, are often accessed for drug related information. But there are limitations in using up to date and most reliable resources. Therefore, intervention aimed at improving pharmacists' access to and evaluation of drug information is urgently needed.

Burden of neurological diseases in the US revealed by web searches.

BACKGROUND: Analyzing the disease-related web searches of Internet users provides insight into the interests of the general population as well as the healthcare industry, which can be used to shape health care policies. METHODS: We analyzed the searches related to neurological diseases and drugs used in neurology using the most popular search engines in the US, Google and Bing/Yahoo. RESULTS: We found that the most frequently searched diseases were common diseases such as dementia or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as medium frequency diseases with high social impact such as Parkinson's disease, MS and ALS. The most frequently searched CNS drugs were generic drugs used for pain, followed by sleep disorders, dementia, ADHD, stroke and Parkinson's disease. Regarding the interests of the healthcare industry, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, MS, ALS, meningitis, and hypersomnia received the higher advertising bids for neurological diseases, while painkillers and drugs for neuropathic pain, drugs for dementia or insomnia, and triptans had the highest advertising bidding prices. CONCLUSIONS: Web searches reflect the interest of people and the healthcare industry, and are based either on the frequency or social impact of the disease.