How much time do emergency department physicians spend on medication-related tasks? A time- and-motion study.

BACKGROUND: Medication-related problems are an important cause of emergency department (ED) visits, and medication errors are reported in up to 60% of ED patients. Procedures such as medication reconciliation and medication review can identify and prevent medication-related problems and medication errors. However, this work is often time-consuming. In EDs without pharmacists, medication reconciliation is the physician's responsibility, in addition to the primary assignments of examining and diagnosing the patient. The aim of this study was to identify how much time ED physicians spend on medication-related tasks when no pharmacists are present in the EDs. METHODS: An observational time-and-motion study of physicians in three EDs in Northern Norway was conducted using Work Observation Method by Activity Timing (WOMBAT) to collect and time-stamp data. Observations were conducted in predefined two-hour observation sessions with a 1:1 relationship between observer and participant, during Monday to Friday between 8 am and 8 pm, from November 2020 to October 2021. RESULTS: In total, 386 h of observations were collected during 225 observation sessions. A total of 8.7% of the physicians' work time was spent on medication-related tasks, of which most time was spent on oral communication about medications with other physicians (3.0%) and medication-related documentation (3.2%). Physicians spent 2.2 min per hour on medication reconciliation tasks, which includes retrieving medication-related information directly from the patient, reading/retrieving written medication-related information, and medication-related documentation. Physicians spent 85.6% of the observed time on non-medication-related clinical or administrative tasks, and the remaining time was spent standby or moving between tasks. CONCLUSION: In three Norwegian EDs, physicians spent 8.7% of their work time on medication-related tasks, and 85.6% on other clinical or administrative tasks. Physicians spent 2.2 min per hour on tasks related to medication reconciliation. We worry that patient safety related tasks in the EDs receive little attention. Allocating dedicated resources like pharmacists to contribute with medication-related tasks could benefit both physicians and patients.

General practitioners' role in safeguarding patients with dementia in their use of dietary supplements. A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: The use of dietary supplements (DS) may cause harm through direct and indirect effects. Patients with dementia may be particularly vulnerable. This study aims to explore general practitioners' (GPs') experiences with DS use by these patients, the GPs perceived responsibilities, obstacles in taking on this responsibility, their attitudes toward DS, and suggestions for improvements to safeguard the use of DS in this patient group. DESIGN: Qualitative individual interview study conducted February - December 2019. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation. SETTING: Primary healthcare clinics in Norway. SUBJECTS: Fourteen Norwegian GPs. FINDINGS: None of the informants were dismissive of patients using DS. They were aware of the possible direct risks and had observed them in patients. Most GPs showed little awareness of potential indirect risks to patients with dementia who use DS. They acknowledged the need for caretaking of these patients. Although there were differences in practice styles, most of the GPs wished to help their patients safeguarding DS use but found it difficult due to the lack of quality assurance of product information. Furthermore, there were no effective ways for the GPs to document DS use in the patients' records. Several suggestions for improvement were given by the GPs, such as increased attention from GPs, inclusion of DS in the prescription software, and stricter regulatory systems for DS from the authorities. CONCLUSION: The GPs had initially little awareness of this safety risk, but there were differences in practice style and attitudes towards DS. The GPs did not perceive themselves as main responsible for safe use of DS in patient with dementia. The most important reason to disclaim responsibility was lack of information about the products. One suggestion for improvement was better integration of DS in patients' medical record.

Currently, little is known about general practitioners (GPs) caretaking of patients with dementia who use dietary supplements (DS). Our study showed that:The GPs in this study showed little awareness of the potential safety risk that DS use may represent for patients with dementia.Several obstacles in the treatment setting and in the regulation of DS make it difficult for the GPs to assume full responsibility for patients with dementia who use DS.Lack of evidence about DS safety and effect adds to professional uncertainty and may cause frustration or reluctance to address the issue.

Internet Use for Obtaining Medicine Information: Cross-sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: The internet is increasingly being used as a source of medicine-related information. People want information to facilitate decision-making and self-management, and they tend to prefer the internet for ease of access. However, it is widely acknowledged that the quality of web-based information varies. Poor interpretation of medicine information can lead to anxiety and poor adherence to drug therapy. It is therefore important to understand how people search, select, and trust medicine information. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to establish the extent of internet use for seeking medicine information among Norwegian pharmacy customers, analyze factors associated with internet use, and investigate the level of trust in different sources and websites. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of pharmacy customers recruited from all but one community pharmacy in Tromsø, a medium size municipality in Norway (77,000 inhabitants). Persons (aged ≥16 years) able to complete a questionnaire in Norwegian were asked to participate in the study. The recruitment took place in September and October 2020. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, social media was also used to recruit medicine users. RESULTS: A total of 303 respondents reported which sources they used to obtain information about their medicines (both prescription and over the counter) and to what extent they trusted these sources. A total of 125 (41.3%) respondents used the internet for medicine information, and the only factor associated with internet use was age. The odds of using the internet declined by 5% per year of age (odds ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.94-0.97; P=.048). We found no association between internet use and gender, level of education, or regular medicine use. The main purpose reported for using the internet was to obtain information about side effects. Other main sources of medicine information were physicians (n=191, 63%), pharmacy personnel (n=142, 47%), and medication package leaflets (n=124, 42%), while 36 (12%) respondents did not obtain medicine information from any sources. Note that 272 (91%) respondents trusted health professionals as a source of medicine information, whereas 58 (46%) respondents who used the internet trusted the information they found on the internet. The most reliable websites were the national health portals and other official health information sites. CONCLUSIONS: Norwegian pharmacy customers use the internet as a source of medicine information, but most still obtain medicine information from health professionals and packet leaflets. People are aware of the potential for misinformation on websites, and they mainly trust high-quality sites run by health authorities.

Self-reported medication information needs among medication users in a general population aged 40 years and above - the Tromsø study.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of self-reported medication information needs among medication users in a general population aged 40 years and above - The Tromsø Study. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of medication users (n = 10,231) among participants in the Tromsø Study, a descriptive analysis of questionnaire data and multivariable logistic regression (n = 9,194). RESULTS: Sixteen percent of medication users expressed a need for more information about own medications. Overall, medication users agreed to a higher degree to have received information from the GP compared to the pharmacy. Concerned medication users and those disagreeing to have received information about side effects had the highest odds for needing more information (OR 5.07, 95% CI 4.43-5.81) and (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.83-2.68), respectively. Medication users who used heart medications (e.g., nitroglycerin, antiarrhythmics, anticoagulants) (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.46-2.01), medication for hypothyroidism (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.13-1.64) or had moderately health anxiety had expressed need for medication information. Whereas medication users with lower education, those that never used internet to search for health advice, and medication users who disagreed to have received information about reason-for-use were associated with lower odds (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.62-0.91), (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.74-0.98) and (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.53-0.88), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that there is need for more information about own medications in a general population aged 40 years and above and shed light on several characteristics of medication users with expressed information need which is important when tailoring the right information to the right person.

Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors - Validity of Self-Report versus Plasma Concentrations and Pharmacy Dispensations - A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Norwegian Women and Cancer Study.

Purpose: To validate self-reported current use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in the Norwegian Women and Cancer study (NOWAC) and to identify factors associated with discordance between data sources. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional record-linkage study comparing SSRI-use derived from four data sources: 1) Specific SSRI questions in the main NOWAC questionnaire, 2) Open questions on medication use in the small questionnaire following blood samples, 3) plasma concentration measurements for a subsample, and 4) pharmacy dispensations from the Norwegian prescription database (NorPD) where current use of SSRI was defined by Legend Time Duration (LTD). Among 105 855 women, aged 46 to 64 years and randomly selected from the general population, 70,191 had data on SSRI-use from both NOWAC and NorPD. Plasma concentration was measured for 93 pairs of self-reported SSRI-users and non-users, with dispensation data available for 68 pairs. Validity was assessed by sensitivity and specificity; agreement was assessed by Cohen's kappa. Factors associated with discordance between information sources were analyzed by multiple binary logistic regression. Results: We found high sensitivity (89.5%) and specificity (98.7%) for the specific questions in the main questionnaire compared with pharmacy dispensations. Measured against plasma concentrations, current SSRI-use defined by open questions and pharmacy dispensations both had high sensitivity (100% and 92.5%, respectively) and specificity (98.6% both). Agreements (kappa) were similarly high for all comparisons (≥0.80). The factors associated with discordance between data sources included poor health, comorbidity, being single and not being in full time work. Education was inversely associated with discordance. Conclusion: Self-reported current use of SSRI from the NOWAC questionnaires is highly valid and, according to plasma concentrations, perhaps even more so than pharmacy dispensations. Factors associated with discordance between information sources should be taken into account in the interpretation of future analyses which include SSRI-use in the NOWAC study.

Genetically Determined Reproductive Aging and Coronary Heart Disease: A Bidirectional 2-sample Mendelian Randomization.

BACKGROUND: Accelerated reproductive aging, in women indicated by early natural menopause, is associated with increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in observational studies. Conversely, an adverse CHD risk profile has been suggested to accelerate menopause. OBJECTIVES: To study the direction and evidence for causality of the relationship between reproductive aging and (non-)fatal CHD and CHD risk factors in a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, using age at natural menopause (ANM) genetic variants as a measure for genetically determined reproductive aging in women. We also studied the association of these variants with CHD risk (factors) in men. DESIGN: Two-sample MR, using both cohort data as well as summary statistics, with 4 methods: simple and weighted median-based, standard inverse-variance weighted (IVW) regression, and MR-Egger regression. PARTICIPANTS: Data from EPIC-CVD and summary statistics from UK Biobank and publicly available genome-wide association studies were pooled for the different analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: CHD, CHD risk factors, and ANM. RESULTS: Across different methods of MR, no association was found between genetically determined reproductive aging and CHD risk in women (relative risk estimateIVW = 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.97-1.01), or any of the CHD risk factors. Similarly, no associations were found in men. Neither did the reversed analyses show evidence for an association between CHD (risk factors) and reproductive aging. CONCLUSION: Genetically determined reproductive aging is not causally associated with CHD risk (factors) in women, nor were the genetic variants associated in men. We found no evidence for a reverse association in a combined sample of women and men.

Medication adherence among persons with coronary heart disease and associations with blood pressure and low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol.

PURPOSE: To describe medication adherence to lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs), antihypertensive drugs, and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) among persons with coronary heart disease (CHD) and explore its association with low-density-lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. METHODS: Based on record linkage between the seventh wave of the Tromsø Study and the Norwegian Prescription Database, medication adherence was calculated as the proportion of days covered (PDC) for persistent prevalent users in the period of 365 days before the attendance date. Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess the association between systolic and diastolic blood pressure and medication nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs, age, sex, lifestyle, body mass index (BMI), current and previous diabetes, and between LDL-cholesterol and medication nonadherence to LLDs, age, sex, lifestyle, BMI, and current and previous diabetes. RESULTS: Mean PDC was 0.94 for LLDs and antihypertensive drugs and 0.97 for ASA. Among persons with PDC ≥ 0.80 for LLDs, 12.0% had an LDL-cholesterol < 1.8 mmol/L. Blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg (< 140/80 mmHg if diabetes patient) was reached by 55.1% of those with a PDC ≥ 0.80 for antihypertensive drugs. Adherence to LLDs was associated with lower LDL-cholesterol, while neither systolic nor diastolic blood pressure was associated with adherence to antihypertensive drugs. CONCLUSION: Adherence to antihypertensive drugs, LLDs, and ASA among persons with CHD were high despite low achievement of treatment goals for blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol. There was a statistically significant association between adherence to LLDs and LDL-cholesterol, but not between adherence to antihypertensive drugs and blood pressure.

Endogenous Circulating Sex Hormone Concentrations and Colon Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women: A Prospective Study and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Observational studies have consistently reported that postmenopausal hormone therapy use is associated with lower colon cancer risk, but epidemiologic studies examining the associations between circulating concentrations of endogenous estrogens and colorectal cancer have reported inconsistent results. Methods: We investigated the associations between circulating concentrations of estrone, estradiol, free estradiol, testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), progesterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with colon cancer risk in a nested case-control study of 1028 postmenopausal European women (512 colon cancer cases, 516 matched controls) who were noncurrent users of exogenous hormones at blood collection. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to evaluate the association between circulating sex hormones and colon cancer risk. We also conducted a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies of circulating estrone and estradiol with colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer risk in postmenopausal women. All statistical tests were 2-sided. Results: In the multivariable model, a nonstatistically significantly positive relationship was found between circulating estrone and colon cancer risk (odds ratio per log2 1-unit increment = 1.17 [95% confidence interval = 1.00 to 1.38]; odds ratioquartile4-quartile1 = 1.33 [95% confidence interval = 0.89 to 1.97], P trend = .20). Circulating concentrations of estradiol, free estradiol, testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA, progesterone, and SHBG were not associated with colon cancer risk. In the dose-response meta-analysis, no clear evidence of associations were found between circulating estradiol and estrone concentrations with colorectal, colon, and rectal cancer risk. Conclusion: Our observational and meta-analysis results do not support an association between circulating concentrations of endogenous sex hormones and colon or rectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

Home care service employees' contribution to patient safety in clients with dementia who use dietary supplements: a Norwegian survey.

OBJECTIVE: To explore home care services (HCS) employees' professional experiences with the use of dietary supplements (DSs) in their clients with dementia. We also investigated their attributed professional responsibility concerning this use and their attitudes toward DSs in general. Differences between nurses and nurse assistants were investigated. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey with self-administered questionnaires. SETTING: Home care services in six Norwegian municipalities in the period August-December 2016. SUBJECTS: A total of 231 (64% response rate) HCS employees; 78 nurses and 153 nurse assistants (auxiliary nurses and employees without formal education).Main outcome measures: Health care employees' experiences with patient safety in clients with dementia who use DSs. RESULTS: Fifty per cent were concerned that clients with dementia might harm their health due to DS use. Thirty-one per cent reported having intervened in order to reduce the risk. Seventy-one per cent preferred to administer DSs to clients with dementia rather than leaving this responsibility to the clients. The respondents placed the responsibility for patient safety in clients with dementia using DSs mainly with the general practitioners, while they ascribed themselves and pharmacies a medium level of responsibility. There were only minor difference between nurses and nurse assistants, and no difference in attitudes towards DSs. CONCLUSION: Employees in HCS were concerned about the DS use in clients with dementia. Moreover, almost one-third had intervened to improve clients' patient safety. The majority indicated that HCS should administer DSs rather than the clients with dementia themselves.KEY POINTSTo our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the role of home care services with regard to patient safety in clients with dementia who use dietary supplements (DSs).•Home care service employees worried about patient safety related to DS use in clients with dementia.•Home care service employees attributed to themselves medium responsibility to ensure the safe use of DSs in these clients.•Lack of knowledge was the most important reason why home care service employees did not recommend DSs to clients.

Self-reported medication use among coronary heart disease patients showed high validity compared with dispensing data.

OBJECTIVE: To validate self-reported use of medications for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a population-based health study by comparing self-report with pharmacy dispensing data, and explore different methods for defining medication use in prescription databases. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Self-reported medication use among participants with CHD (n = 1483) from the seventh wave of the Tromsø Study was linked with the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD). Cohen's kappa, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated, using NorPD as the reference standard. Medication use in NorPD was defined in three ways; fixed-time window of 180 days, and legend-time method assuming a daily dose of one dosage unit or one defined daily dose (DDD). RESULTS: Kappa-values for antihypertensive drugs, lipid-lowering drugs and acetylsalicylic acid all showed substantial agreement (kappa ≥0.61). Validity varied depending on the method used for defining medication use in NorPD. Applying a fixed-time window gave higher agreement, positive predictive values and specificity compared with the legend-time methods. CONCLUSION: Self-reported use of medication for secondary prevention of CHD shows high validity when compared with pharmacy dispensing data. For CHD medications, fixed-time window appears to be the most appropriate method for defining medication use in prescription databases.

Adherence to prescription guidelines and achievement of treatment goals among persons with coronary heart disease in Tromsø 7.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to clinical practice guidelines for coronary heart disease (CHD) reduces morbidity, mortality and treatment costs. We aimed to describe and compare adherence to prescription guidelines for persons with CHD, and explore its association with treatment goal achievement. METHOD: We included all participants reporting myocardial infarction, angina, percutaneous coronary intervention and/or coronary artery bypass surgery in the seventh wave of the Tromsø Study (2015-2016, n = 1483). Medication use and treatment goal measures (blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and HbA1c) were compared to clinical practice guidelines on secondary CHD prevention. Propensity score matched logistic regression was used to assess the association between the use of antihypertensive drugs and achievement of treatment goal for blood pressure, and the use of lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) and achievement of treatment goal for LDL-cholesterol. RESULTS: The prevalence of pharmacological CHD treatment was 76% for LLDs, 72% for antihypertensive drugs and 66% for acetylsalicylic acid. The blood pressure goal (< 140/90 mmHg, < 140/80 mmHg if diabetic) was achieved by 58% and the LDL-cholesterol goal (< 1.8 mmol/l or < 70 mg/dL) by 9%. There was a strong association between using LLDs and achieving the treatment goal for LDL-cholesterol (OR 14.0, 95% CI 3.6-54.7), but not between using antihypertensive drugs and blood pressure goal achievement (OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.7-2.7). CONCLUSION: Treatment goal achievement of LDL-cholesterol and blood pressure was low, despite the relatively high use of LLDs and antihypertensive drugs. Further research is needed to find the proper actions to increase achievement of the treatment goals.

Menstrual Factors, Reproductive History, Hormone Use, and Urothelial Carcinoma Risk: A Prospective Study in the EPIC Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial carcinoma is the predominant (95%) bladder cancer subtype in industrialized nations. Animal and epidemiologic human studies suggest that hormonal factors may influence urothelial carcinoma risk. METHODS: We used an analytic cohort of 333,919 women from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Cohort. Associations between hormonal factors and incident urothelial carcinoma (overall and by tumor grade, tumor aggressiveness, and non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma) risk were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: During a mean of 15 years of follow-up, 529 women developed urothelial carcinoma. In a model including number of full-term pregnancies (FTP), menopausal status, and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), number of FTP was inversely associated with urothelial carcinoma risk (HR≥5vs1 = 0.48; 0.25-0.90; P trend in parous women = 0.010) and MHT use (compared with nonuse) was positively associated with urothelial carcinoma risk (HR = 1.27; 1.03-1.57), but no dose response by years of MHT use was observed. No modification of HRs by smoking status was observed. Finally, sensitivity analyses in never smokers showed similar HR patterns for the number of FTP, while no association between MHT use and urothelial carcinoma risk was observed. Association between MHT use and urothelial carcinoma risk remained significant only in current smokers. No heterogeneity of the risk estimations in the final model was observed by tumor aggressiveness or by tumor grade. A positive association between MTH use and non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma risk was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support that increasing the number of FTP may reduce urothelial carcinoma risk. IMPACT: More detailed studies on parity are needed to understand the possible effects of perinatal hormone changes in urothelial cells.

Medication Errors and Safety Culture in a Norwegian Hospital.

Medication errors are associated with adverse health outcomes and may prolong hospital stays and increase societal costs. Safety initiatives to reduce adverse health outcomes should be based on reliable information of current shortcomings. The aim of this study was to identify barriers to medication error reporting in a hospital and to describe heath personnel's views of the safety culture. Seven interviews with health personnel (two doctors, four nurses and one pharmacist) were conducted November 2016-January 2017 at the University Hospital of North Norway. Nurses, more frequently than doctors, reported medication errors and discussed reported errors at staff meetings. Doctors preferred to solve the problem directly, for example writing a new medication order, rather than writing a report when a medication error had been identified. There was variation between the wards regarding the perception of support, confidence in and focus on error reporting, which indicates different safety cultures within the hospital. Identified barriers to medication error reporting included lack of time, and the impression that the reporting system is complicated and not user-friendly. Staff also reported inadequate training using the system, which could contribute to the perception that the system is inaccessible. Hospital management should take actions to improve the safety culture throughout the hospital based on the barriers identified in this study. This could include stronger focus on the importance of reporting medication errors, a transparent review process and clearly communicated actions.

Pharmacy employees' involvement in safeguarding persons with dementia who use dietary supplements: Results from a survey of Norwegian pharmacies.

BACKGROUND: Community-dwelling persons with dementia commonly use dietary supplements (DS), often without receiving help with the administration. Patient safety is a concern, as DS-drug interactions and adverse events are potential complications. Since many persons with dementia buy their DS in pharmacies, we investigated Norwegian pharmacy employees' attitudes and professional practice behaviors related to DS. METHODS: We conducted a survey in eight Norwegian municipalities of pharmacy employees involved in the sale of DS. The questionnaire covered demographics and investigated attitudes toward DS, professional practice behaviors related to the sale of DS, experiences with customers with dementia, and perceived and attributed responsibilities with regard to patient safety. RESULTS: One hundred and five employees responded (response rate: 52%). Most employees regarded general practitioners (GPs) as primarily responsible for safeguarding the use of DS by persons with dementia and rated themselves less responsible. Thirty-seven percent of the employees reported personal use of DS (past or current use). Nine percent considered some of the DS to have symptomatic or prophylactic effects against dementia. Forty-eight percent confirmed that they informed customers about potential adverse events; 42% indicated that they did this sometimes. Sixteen percent checked regularly for DS-drug interactions, and two-thirds checked depending on the customers' health, the type of drug or the type of DS. One-quarter regularly asked about the co-use of prescription drugs (PD) when selling DS, while only 2% asked about the co-use of DS when dispensing PD. Only 25% reported access to independent scientific information on all or most DS sold in their pharmacy. Eight percent had experienced unsafe use of DS by persons with dementia. Six percent had been taught about counselling persons with dementia. Education level influenced professional practice behavior to some extent. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy employees do not see themselves as primarily responsible for the safe use of DS by persons with dementia. Moreover, they have limited experience with the unsafe use of DS by these persons. There is potential for improvement regarding tools and educational interventions for pharmacy employees to provide sufficient help to persons with dementia who use DS.

Knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among Norwegian pharmacy customers - a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance is a global health threat. Public knowledge is considered a prerequisite for appropriate use of antibiotics and limited spread of antibiotic resistance. Our aim was to examine the level of knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among Norwegian pharmacy customers, and to assess to which degree beliefs, attitudes and sociodemographic factors are associated with this knowledge. METHODS: A questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacy customers in three Norwegian cities. The questionnaire covered 1) knowledge of antibiotics (13 statements) and antibiotic resistance (10 statements), 2) the general beliefs about medicines questionnaire (BMQ general) (three subdomains, four statements each), 3) attitudes toward antibiotic use (four statements), and 4) sociodemographic factors, life style and health. High knowledge level was defined as > 66% of maximum score. Factors associated with knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance were investigated through univariate and multiple linear regression. Hierarchical model regression was used to estimate a population average knowledge score weighted for age, gender and level of education. RESULTS: Among 877 participants, 57% had high knowledge of antibiotics in general and 71% had high knowledge of antibiotic resistance. More than 90% knew that bacteria can become resistant against antibiotics and that unnecessary use of antibiotics can make them less effective. Simultaneously, more than 30% erroneously stated that antibiotics are effective against viruses, colds or influenza. Factors positively associated with antibiotic knowledge were health professional background, high education level, and a positive view on the value of medications in general. Male gender, a less restrictive attitude toward antibiotic use, and young age were negatively associated with antibiotic knowledge. The mean overall antibiotic knowledge score was relatively high (15.6 out of maximum 23 with estimated weighted population score at 14.8). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a high level of knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among Norwegian pharmacy customers, there are obvious knowledge gaps. We suggest that action is taken to increase the knowledge level, and particularly target people in vocational, male dominated occupations outside the health service, and primary/secondary school curricula.

Progestin-only and combined oral contraceptives and receptor-defined premenopausal breast cancer risk: The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study.

Receptor-defined subtypes of breast cancer represent distinct cancer types and have differences in risk factors. Whether the two main hormonal forms of oral contraceptives (OCs); i.e. progestin-only (POC) and combined oral contraceptives (COC), are differentially associated with these subtypes are not well known. The aim of our study was to assess the effect of POC and COC use on hormone receptor-defined breast cancer risk in premenopausal women in a prospective population-based cohort - The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (NOWAC). Information on OC use was collected from 74,862 premenopausal women at baseline. Updated information was applied when follow-up information became available. Multiple imputation was performed to handle missing data, and multivariable Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for breast cancer. 1,245 incident invasive breast cancer cases occurred. POC use ≥5 years was associated with ER+ (HR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.09- 2.32, ptrend = 0.03) and ER+/PR+ cancer (HR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.07-2.48, ptrend = 0.05), and was not associated with ER- (pheterogeneity = 0.36) or ER-/PR- (pheterogeneity = 0.49) cancer. COC use was associated with ER- and ER-/PR- cancer, but did not increase risk of ER+ and ER+/PR+ cancer. Current COC use gave different estimates for ER/PR-defined subtypes (pheterogeneity = 0.04). This is the first study to show significant associations between POC use and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The lack of power to distinguish effects of POC use on subtype development calls for the need of larger studies to confirm our finding.

Direct and indirect risk associated with the use of dietary supplements among persons with dementia in a Norwegian memory clinic.

BACKGROUND: The use of dietary supplements (DS) is common among persons with dementia. Direct risks associated with DS use include adverse events and DS-drug interactions. A direct risk is a risk caused by the treatment itself. Indirect risks are related to the treatment setting, such as the conditions of use, and not to the treatment itself. Because dementia symptoms may reduce a person's ability to cope with the administration of DS, the use of DS may pose a threat to safety as an indirect risk. The aim of this study was to describe the extent of DS use among persons with dementia in ambulatory care and to identify some relevant direct and indirect risks related to DS use. METHODS: We conducted a survey among 151 persons with dementia attending an outpatient memory clinic in Northern Norway. Study measurements included: the participants' characteristics, cognitive functioning, functioning in the activities of daily living (ADL), and the use of DS and prescription drugs (PD). We assessed direct risks by evaluating potential DS-drug interactions and indirect risks by evaluating the conditions under which it was used. RESULTS: Forty-six percent (n = 70) of the persons with dementia used DS. Ninety-seven percent (n = 147) used PD. We found potentially clinically relevant DS-drug interactions representing a direct risk in eight persons with dementia (11% of users). While only 36% (n = 26) of the participants received assistance with the administration of DS, 73% (n = 106) received assistance with the administration of PD. Persons with dementia living alone were at risk of not receiving assistance, as home care service seldom was involved in DS administration. Data indicated that assistance with DS administration was not provided for all persons with dementia in need, representing an indirect risk to these persons. Only one-third of the persons with dementia and half of the caregivers were aware of the general risks of adverse events and interactions associated with the use of DS. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with dementia use DS frequently, yet DS use may be associated with direct and indirect risks to patient safety as potentially clinically relevant interactions were discovered and DS intake often was unsupervised.

Utilization of the tyndall effect for enhanced visual detection of particles in compatibility testing of intravenous fluids: validity and reliability.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the validity, reliability, and detection limit of a visual examination method utilizing the Tyndall effect to enhance visible detection of particles. The suitability of the method for compatibility testing of intravenous fluids in a hospital pharmacy context is discussed. METHODS: A panel of 20 inspectors examined 20 samples, with and without particles, using two light sources (halogen lightbulb in a focused desk lamp and a red pocket laser pointer). The samples contained particles of different origin (precipitate, polystyrene standards), varying size, and concentrations. Light obscuration and turbidimetric measurements were used to obtain numeric references. The samples were divided into rejection probability zones, and the validity (sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios) and reliability (inter-rater agreement coefficients Fleiss' kappa and Gwet's AC1) were estimated. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the laser pointer for detecting microprecipitates was quite high; however, it also showed a high false rejection rate. The specificity was slightly higher for the focused desk lamp than the laser pointer. The likelihood ratios were not within the recommended limits of a useful test, indicating that the method could not securely confirm the presence/absence of particles in the samples. The inter-rater agreement coefficients indicated fair to moderate agreement between the inspectors. CONCLUSIONS: The validity and reliability were not satisfactory for either of the light sources. The visual detection limit seemed to be around 5 µm, although we propose that an exact detection limit is not that relevant for compatibility testing. Based on the current findings, the visual examination method cannot be recommended as the sole method for judging compatibility of parenteral nutrition and drugs, but rather in a program of several methods. In the hospital pharmacy, the method may be a resource, together with theoretical considerations, in situations where other methods are unavailable; however, use of in-line-filters is essential to protect the patient. LAY ABSTRACT: Many patients under intensive care are in need of several intravenous drugs simultaneously. These drugs cannot be given in the same infusion line unless compatibility has been documented. Incompatibilities can result in, for example, precipitation of particles. Injected particles can harm the patient and should be avoided. Visual screening of blends of drugs for possible incompatibility, using a focused light source to enhance visual detection based on the Tyndall effect, could be a quick and easy methodology to identify incompatibility. In the following study the objective was to investigate how reliable visual inspection, with the utilization of the Tyndall effect, is at detecting particles and precipitations in blends of intravenous drugs and parenteral nutrition mixtures. Twenty inspectors each examined 20 different samples with two different light sources. Some of the samples were without particles (clean), and some contained different types and degrees of particle contamination. The inspectors' judgment of the samples was recorded and validity and reliability parameters were calculated to evaluate the method's suitability. The conclusion was that because of false positive and negative findings the visual inspection method alone is not enough to securely document compatibility/incompatibility, but it is more suitable as support together with additional methods.

Prolactin determinants in healthy women: A large cross-sectional study within the EPIC cohort.

BACKGROUND: Experimental and epidemiologic data suggest that higher circulating prolactin is associated with breast cancer risk; however, how various risk factors for breast cancer influence prolactin levels in healthy women is not clear. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional associations between several suggested reproductive and lifestyle risk factors for breast cancer and circulating prolactin among pre- and postmenopausal women, taking into account the use of current postmenopausal hormone therapy, among 2,560 controls from a breast cancer nested case-control study within the EPIC cohort. RESULTS: Adjusted geometric mean prolactin levels were significantly higher among premenopausal women, and among postmenopausal women using hormone therapy compared with nonusers (8.2, 7.0, and 6.3 ng/mL, respectively; Pcat = <0.0001). Furthermore, prolactin levels were significantly higher among users of combined estrogen-progestin hormone therapy compared with users of estrogen-alone hormone therapy (6.66 vs. 5.90 ng/mL; Pcat = 0.001). Prolactin levels were lower among parous women compared with nulliparous women (8.61 vs. 10.95 ng/mL; Pcat = 0.0002, premenopausal women); the magnitude of this difference depended on the number of full-term pregnancies (22.1% lower, ≥3 vs. 1 pregnancy, Ptrend = 0.01). Results for parity were similar but lower in magnitude among postmenopausal women. Prolactin did not vary by other studied factors, with the exception of lower levels among postmenopausal smokers compared with never smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that current hormone therapy use, especially the use of combined hormone therapy, is associated with higher circulating prolactin levels in postmenopausal women, and confirms prior findings of lower circulating prolactin in parous women. IMPACT: Our study extends the knowledge linking various breast cancer risk factors with circulating prolactin.