RESUMO
Dengue fever is one of the most important viral infections transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Accurate identification of cases and treatment of dengue patients at the early stages can reduce medical complications and dengue mortality rate. This survey aims to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among physicians in dengue diagnosis and treatment. This study was conducted among physicians in Turkey as one nonendemic country and Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia as three dengue-endemic countries. The dosing frequencies, maximum doses, and contraindications in dengue fever were examined. The results found that physicians from Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia have higher KAP scores in dengue diagnosis and treatment compared to physicians in Turkey. This may be due to a lack of physician's exposure to a dengue patient as Turkey is considered a nonendemic country. This assessment may help establish a guideline for intervention strategies among physicians to have successful treatment outcomes and reduce dengue mortality.
RESUMO
As the world tries to cope with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging variants of the virus, COVID-19 vaccination has become an even more critical tool toward normalcy. The effectiveness of the vaccination program and specifically vaccine uptake and coverage, however, is a function of an individual's knowledge and individual opinion about the disease and available vaccines. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and resulting community practice(s) associated with the new COVID-19 variants and vaccines in Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, and the USA. A cross-sectional web-based Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey was administered to respondents living in six different countries using a structured and multi-item questionnaire. Survey questions were translated into English, Spanish, and Malay to accommodate the local language in each country. Associations between KAP and a range of explanatory variables were assessed using univariate and multiple logistic regression. A total of 781 responses were included in the final analysis. The Knowledge score mean was 24 (out of 46), Attitude score 28.9 (out of 55), and Practice score 7.3 (out of 11). Almost 65% of the respondents reported being knowledgeable about COVID-19 variants and vaccination, 55% reported a positive attitude toward available COVID-19 vaccines, and 85% reported engaging in practices that supported COVID-19 vaccination. From the multiple logistic models, we found post-graduate education (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23-2.74) and an age range 45-54 years (AOR = 5.81, 95% CI: 2.30-14.69) to be significantly associated with reported COVID-19 knowledge. In addition, positive Attitude scores were associated with respondents living in Zimbabwe (AOR = 4.49, 95% CI: 2.04-9.90) and positive Practice scores were found to be associated with people from India (AOR = 3.68, 95% CI: 1.15-11.74) and high school education (AOR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.07-4.38). This study contributes to the identification of socio-demographic factors associated with poor knowledge, attitudes, and practices relating to COVID-19 variants and vaccines. It presents an opportunity for collaboration with diverse communities to address COVID-19 misinformation and common sources of vaccine hesitancy (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, and practices).
RESUMO
AIM: The primary intent of the study is to analyze the prescribing pattern and to identify the various drug-related problems (DRPs) associated with the therapy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted in 160 patients diagnosed with any stages of CKD. The prescribing pattern was studied and DRPs were identified, reported, and categorized as per the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe classification V 5.01. The association between categorical variables was analyzed using the Chi-square test. The predictors of DRPs were identified using binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the study population was 50.08 ± 15.32 years with male predominance (71%). The average number of drugs per prescription was found to be 9.16 ± 3.01. The most prescribed drug category was antihypertensives and the most commonly prescribed drugs were diuretics. A total of 337 DRPs were identified, out of which the most common DRP was drug interactions (60%), followed by frequency errors (11.6%). Logistic regression analysis identified comorbidities more than three (odds ratio 2.09), antihypertensives more than two (odds ratio 1.9), alcoholism (odds ratio 1.5), and polypharmacy (odds ratio 1.2) as the predictors of DRPs even though they were not statistically significant at P = 0.01. CONCLUSION: DRPs increase the risk of deterioration of the disease state and increase the length of hospital stay. Identification and resolving of the DRPs will lead to better patient care and proper treatment. Early identification and modification of the above-mentioned predictors could possibly prevent/reduce DRPs.