Knowledge, attitude and practice towards pharmacovigilance and reporting of adverse drug reactions among health care professionals in Albania: A cross-sectional study.

In both developed and developing nations, the rising prevalence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and underreporting of ADRs in pharmacovigilance centers have become major problems. The goal of this study was to access the overall knowledge, attitude and practices toward pharmacovigilance and ADRs reporting among Albanian healthcare professionals. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022 including physicians, community pharmacists and nurses in Tirana, Albania. There were distributed a total of 511 questionnaires to healthcare professionals, where 410 of them were returned, resulting in an 80.23 percent response rate. Physicians and pharmacists compare to nurses had better knowledge about pharmacovigilance and its main purpose. Pharmacists had better knowledge regarding the establishment of the pharmacovigilance law (67.62%) and how to report ADRs (51.43%), Of all, 85.42% of physicians, 74.29% of pharmacists and 40.38% of nurses resulted had a positive attitude towards ADR reporting as a professional obligation, as well as 57.29% of physicians, 58.57% of pharmacists and 22.12% (p < 0.05) of nurses, declared that they have reported ADRs. Only physicians have reported ADRs to the national pharmacovigilance center. The findings of this study show that most of the healthcare professionals in Tirana do not have a thorough understanding of pharmacovigilance techniques.

Application of a toxicity test battery integrated index for a first screening of the ecotoxicological threat posed by ports and harbors in the southern Adriatic Sea (Italy).

Ports and harbors may represent a threat for coastal ecosystems due to pollutant inputs, especially those derived from maritime activities. In this study, we report a first assessment of the ecotoxicological threat posed by six ports and harbors of opposite coastal regions, Apulia and Albania, in the southern Adriatic Sea (Italy). A bioassay battery consisting of four different species representing different trophic levels, algae Dunaliella tertiolecta, bacteria Vibrio fischeri, crustacean Artemia salina, and echinoids Paracentrotus lividus, has been used to assess sediment elutriates, pore waters, and sediment suspensions. Two different approaches of toxicity data integration, worst case and integrated index, have been used to determine the most appropriate procedure for the investigated sites. All sites with the worst case approach showed high toxicity levels. The chronic test with algae was the most sensitive identifying the highest effects in the battery. This effect can be attributable to contaminants derived from antifouling paints. The sediments, evaluated with V. fischeri test, often showed toxicity not found in the aqueous matrices of the same sites and that can be mainly linked to organic compounds. The test battery used in this study allowed us to perform a preliminary screening of the ecotoxicological risk of the studied area. In fact, the species utilized for toxicity tests responded differently to the investigated samples, showing different sensitivity. The test battery integrated index did not allow highlighting the differences among the sites and showed a general high ecotoxicological risk. A larger number of tests with higher sensitivity together with a tailored attribution of weights to endpoints and matrices will improve the final site evaluation.

First evaluation of the threat posed by antifouling biocides in the Southern Adriatic Sea.

The CARISMA project (characterization and ecological risk analysis of antifouling biocides in the Southern Adriatic Sea) aims to appraise the quality of the Southern Adriatic Sea between Italy (Apulia region) and Albania and, in particular, the impact due to the use of biocidal antifouling coatings. Under this project, a preliminary survey at the main hot spots of contamination (e.g. ports and marinas) was conducted at the end of the nautical season in 2012. Chemical seawater analyses were complemented with ecotoxicological assays and the results were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA). As expected, PCA splits the Albanian and Italian ports, according to the different degrees of contamination indicated for the two countries by the experimental data, highlighting the most critical situation in one port of Apulia. In addition, in order to assess the potential adverse ecological effects posed by antifouling agents (i.e. tributyltin (TBT)-irgarol-diuron) on non-target marine organisms, hazard quotients (HQ) were calculated. The results showed a low risk posed by irgarol and diuron whereas the probability of adverse effects was high in the case of TBT.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in iron-steel and ferrochrome industry workers.

UNLABELLED: Metallurgical industry workers in developing countries are often exposed to high concentrations of dusts and fumes that affect pulmonary function. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the prevalence and severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the prevalence of symptoms, as well as, the link between work-place air pollution and COPD. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data about smoking and socioeconomic status, past history of pulmonary diseases, current respiratory symptoms, education, and other variables. We have identified and assessed all risk factors and also have performed measurements of dynamic pulmonary function in 459 subjects - 90% of iron-steel and ferrochrome industry workers. The prevalence of COPD oscillated from 19.6% up to 25.7% while severity varied from mild to very severe. SYMPTOMS: prevalence varied from 12.0% to 46.3% while relative risk for developing COPD was 2.1-5.5 that of non-industry controls. Exposure markers' concentrations: for total suspended particles (TSP) oscillated from 0.375-25.5 mg/m3, particulate matter (PM10) from 0.25 to 10.5 mg/m3, and sulfur dioxide from 0.19-18.69 mg/m3. In majority of cases its average exceeded threshold limit values. Our conclusion was that COPD prevalence and its symptoms are high in the population studied, and that there exists a well established occupational risk between work-place air pollution and COPD.