Public knowledge of antibiotics, self-medication, and household disposal practices in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess public understanding of antibiotics, self-medication, and drug disposal practices. METHODS: A cross-sectional self-administered online survey was undertaken in Jordan. RESULTS: The study was completed by 1,105 participants. When asked about their knowledge of antibiotics, rational antibiotic use, and disposal practices, 16% percent believed they should discontinue antibiotics once they felt better, and 12% agreed to take the same antibiotics prescribed to others for the same illness. Self-medication with antibiotics was practiced by 44% of the participants. Prior experience, healthcare costs, and pharmacy location were all major determinants of self-medication. Only 6.4% of unneeded antibiotics were returned to the pharmacy, 60% were kept at home, and 26.6% were disposed of at home. Almost half of those who kept the antibiotics said they would use them again, and one-third said they would give them to friends and family. Respondents who had used antibiotics within the previous 6 months (p = 0.052) and relied on medication leaflets (p = 0.031) and physician recommendations (p = 0.001) were less likely to self-medicate with antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlighted areas of inappropriate use of antibiotics, self-medication and the improper antibiotic disposal that can inform antimicrobial stewardship.

Trends of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the United States (2005-2014).

INTRODUCTION: Cancer patients are prone to higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared to the general population. However, the estimated incidence of cancer-associated VTE varied among the studies. The primary objective of this study was to determine the national annual incidence and examine the trend of cancer-associated VTE in the US over the years from 2005 to 2014. METHODS: A retrospective population based study was conducted using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The study included all noninstitutionalized US adults aged ≥18 years who had a final person-weight > 0 to be representative of the national population. Simple linear regression (SLR) and Mann-Kendall (MK) tests were used to examine the trend of cancer-associated VTE over the years. RESULTS: On average, there were 15,570,000 adult persons living with a cancer condition every year. Female represented 53.8% of the study population, and the mean of age was 63.5 years. The overall annual incidence of cancer-associated VTE varied between 1.80 and 0.72% over the years, with an overall average of 1.18%. The study found a non-significant downward trend in the incidence of cancer-associated VTE over the years. Patients who had cancer-associated VTE were significantly older than patients without VTE (mean 68.64 vs. 62.68 years, p < .0001). CONCLUSION: The study found cancer patients continued to have the risk of VTE over the years. The non-significant downward trend in cancer-associated VTE suggests that health care practitioners are heading in the right direction, but enhanced preventative care is needed to avoid further incidents of cancer-associated VTE.

Teaching Research Skills to Student Pharmacists in One Semester: An Applied Research Elective.

Objectives. To implement and assess the effectiveness of a 15-week applied research elective that introduced students to secondary database analysis in clinical pharmacy. Design. In small groups, students learned, planned, developed and completed a secondary database study to answer an original research question. During one semester, they completed a basic research proposal and Institutional Review Board application, created and analyzed a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample dataset, and reported the results in an abstract and poster presentation. Assessment. All deliverables resulted in high grades. Mean scores on a survey conducted following completion of the course revealed that students strongly agreed or agreed that they had high levels of confidence about performing research-related tasks. Eight student groups delivered poster presentations at professional conferences. Conclusions. Within one semester, student pharmacists with no or little research experience completed original research projects that contributed to pharmacy practice knowledge. They felt highly confident doing research-related tasks, and successfully disseminated their studies beyond the classroom.

Considering the whole patient with hypertension: the ethos of pharmaceutical care.

From a pharmaceutical care perspective, this article will assess co-existing factors affecting the patient with hypertension. It will begin by defining pharmaceutical care, the components necessary for the provision of such, and how the provision of pharmaceutical care has already affected patient care. Then, it will explore those factors that influence the development of the therapeutic relationship, such as culture and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, gender, and functional status. Finally, this article will conclude with the rationale for and impact of providing pharmaceutical care to the patient with hypertension.