Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Jan-Mar 2016

The nature of performing a scientific research is a process that has several different components which consist of identifying the key research question(s), choices of scientific approach for the study and data collection, data analysis, and finally reporting on results. Generally, peer review is a series of procedures in the evaluation of a creative work or performance by other people, who work in the same or related field, with the aim of maintaining and improving the quality of work or performance in that field. The assessment of the achievement of every scientist, and thus indirectly determining his reputation in the scientific community of these publications, especially journals, is done through the so‑called impact factor index. The impact factor predicts or estimates that how many annual citations article may receive after its publication. Evaluation of scientific productivity and assessment of the published articles of researchers and scientists can be made through the so‑called H‑index. The quality of published results of scientific work largely depends on knowledge sources that are used in the preparation, which means that it should be considered to serve the purpose and the very relevance of the information used. Scientometrics as a field of science covers all aforementioned issues, and scientometric analysis is obligatory for quality assessment of the scientific validity of published articles and other type of publications.

Despite the classic role of Vitamin D in skeletal health, new aspects of Vitamin D have been discovered in tissues and organs other than bones. Epidemiological and observational studies demonstrate a link between Vitamin D deficiency and risk of developing respiratory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), and tuberculosis (TB). To review the literature, we searched the terms “Vitamin D”(using the set operator) and “asthma,” “COPD” and “TB” in electronic databases, including PubMed/ MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar until July 2015. Non‑English articles or articles with unavailable full text were excluded. Both in vivo and in vitro studies were included. All the reviewed articles state that Vitamin D deficiency is very common among patients with respiratory diseases. The present data regarding Vitamin D and asthma is still controversial, but data about COPD and TB are more encouraging. The relevant studies have been conducted in different populations therefore it is not particularly possible to compare the data due to genetic variations. In order to point out a role for Vitamin D, large clinical trials with Vitamin D deficient subjects and sufficient Vitamin D supplementation are needed.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of midazolam‑ondansetron combination in prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) after middle ear surgery and its comparison with using midazolam or ondansetron alone.

One hundred and forty patients were enrolled in four groups to receive midazolam 0.75 mg/kg in group M, ondansetron 4 mg in group O, midazolam 0.75 mg/ kg and ondansetron 4 mg in group MO, and saline 0.9% in group S intravenously just before anesthesia. Assessment of nausea, vomiting, rescue antiemetic, and side effects of study drugs such as headache and dizziness was carried out postoperatively for 24 h.

The incidence of PONV was significantly smaller in groupMO than groupM and groupO, while there was no significant difference between group M and groupO during the first 24 h postoperatively. Requirement to the additional antiemetic was significantly more in group S (71.4%) compared to other groups, while in group MO (11.4%) was lower than group M (31.4%) and group O (34.3%).

Our study showed that prophylactic administration of midazolam 0.75 mg/kg combined with ondansetron 4 mg was more effective than using midazolam or ondansetron alone in prevention of PONV after middle ear surgery.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of zinc and omega‑3 supplements as adjunctive drugs in the treatment of attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) of children.

This study is a randomized, double‑blind clinical trial conducted on 150 children aged 6–15 years old that diagnosed as new cases of ADHD. Study subjects were evaluated for 8 weeks. Besides of drug of choice (methylphenidate) for the ADHD, patients received placebo in the control group (n = 50), zinc sulfate in second group (n = 50), and omega‑3 (n = 50) in third group. Clinical improvement was checking by Conners’ Parent and Teacher Rating Scales before and in 2nd, 4th, and 8th week of treatment. Results were analyzed with SPSS version 16 software.

In this study, mean scores of Conners’ scale showed significant improvement during treatment in the zinc group compared to control group in children that affected to attention‑deficit disorder subtype of ADHD (P = 0.02). Moreover, in omega‑3 group, better clinical response was seen than other groups (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between omega‑3 group compared to placebo group in the mean scores of Conners’ scale (P = 0.89).

Zinc supplementation accompanied by the main treatment significantly improves symptom of attention‑deficit disorder subtype of ADHD. However, omega‑3 supplementation was superior to zinc and placebo in the clinical improvement of ADHD.

This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of enteral supplementation of a prebiotic mixture (SCGOS/LCFOS) on faecal microbiota in very premature infants who fed exclusively with human-milk.

This double‑center randomized control trial was conducted from December 2012 to November 2013 in the tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Units of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Fifty preterm infants (birth weight ≤1500 g who were not fed with formula) were randomly allocated to have enteral (tube feeding) supplementation with a prebiotic mixture (SCGOS/LCFOS; 9:1) or receive no prebiotics.

The primary outcome (e.g., the effect of the prebiotic mixture on fecal microbiota pattern) was clearly different between the two groups. Despite greater coliforms colony counts in first stool cultures in the prebiotic group (Group P)(P = 0.67), coliforms were significantly lower in the third stool cultures in the Group P (P < 0.001). Furthermore, despite the much higher Lactobacillus colony counts, in the first stool cultures, in the control group (Group C) (P = 0.005); there was a trend toward significantly increased Lactobacillus colony counts in the Group P during the study, but the difference between Lactobacillus colony counts, in the third stool cultures, between two groups was no longer statistically significant(P = 0.11). Interestingly, the median length of hospital stay was significantly less in the Group P (16 [12.50–23.50] vs. 25 [19.50–33.00] days; P = 0.003).

This suggests that it might have been “the complete removal of formula” which manifests a synergistic effect between nonhuman neutral oligosaccharides (prebiotics) and human oligosaccharides, which in turn, led to the rapid growth of beneficial Lactobacillus colonies in the gut of breast milk‑fed preterm infants, while decreasing the number of pathogenic coliforms microorganisms. Therefore, further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to investigate the issue.

Pharmaceutical access for the poor is an essential factor in developing countries that can be improved through strategic purchasing. This study was conducted to identify the elements affecting price in order to enable insurance organizations to put strategic purchasing into practice.

This was a qualitative study conducted through content analysis with an inductive approach applying a five‑stage framework analysis (familiarization, identifying a thematic framework, indexing, mapping, and interpretation). Data analysis was started right after transcribing each interview applying ATLAS.ti. Data were saturated after 32 semi‑structured interviews by experts. These key informants were selected purposefully and through snowball sampling.

Findings showed that there are four main themes as Pharmaceutical Strategic Purchasing Requirements in Iran as follows essential and structural factors, international factors, economical factors, and legal factors. Moreover, totally 14 related sub‑themes were extracted in this area as the main effective variables.

It seems that paying adequate attention to the four present themes and 14 sub‑themes affecting price can enable health system policy‑makers of developing countries like Iran to make the best decisions through strategic purchasing of drugs by the main insurers in order to improve access and health in the country.

Antibiotic use pattern and emergence of resistant bacteria are major concerns in clinical settings. This study aimed to detect common bacteria and their antibiotic sensitivity patterns in nephrology and kidney transplant wards.

This 1‑year, observational study was performed in the nephrology and kidney transplant wards of Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran. All patients treated with antimicrobial agents for confirmed or suspected infections were included. Their demographic, clinical, and laboratory data (including biological media used for microbial culture, growth organisms, and antibiograms) were collected. Adherence of antimicrobial regimen to standard guidelines was also assessed.

About half of the patients received antibiotic. The most common infecting bacteria were Escherichia coli followed by Enterococcus sp. and Staphylococcus aureus. E. coli showed high rate of sensitivity to carbapenems and nitrofurantoin and high rate of resistance to co‑trimoxazole and ciprofloxacin. Enterococcus sp. in both wards had high rate of resistance to ampicillin and were all sensitive to linezolid. Unlike to the nephrology ward, more than 50% of Enterococcus sp. from kidney transplant ward was resistant to vancomycin. The most common type of S. aureus in this nephrology ward was methicillin‑resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Most commonly‑prescribed antibiotics were carbapenems followed by vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, and ceftriaxone. Antibiotic regimens were 75% and 83%, 85% and 91%, and 80% and 87% compatible with international guidelines in antibiotic types, dosages, and treatment durations, respectively, in nephrology and kidney transplant wards, respectively.

MRSA, fluoroquinolone‑resistant E. coli, and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus species are major threats in nephrology and kidney transplant wards. Most commonly‑prescribed antibiotics were carbapenems that necessitate providing internal guidelines by the teamwork of clinical pharmacist, infectious disease specialists, and nephrologists to avoid the widespread use of broad‑spectrum antibiotics.

The extent to which a person’s health‑related behavior corresponds with medical instructions (adherence) is an important modifier of health system effectiveness. This study was designed to determine the patients’ adherence to Iranian traditional medicine in a group of patients with chronic disease.

Convenience sampling was used to enroll 320 patients with chronic diseases from January 2014 to January 2015 in clinics of traditional medicine affiliated with medical universities in Tehran. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) was used to measure the adherence. After describing the variables and the frequency of adherence, logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influencing factors.

Mean age was 40.8 (standard deviation [SD] =13) years. The mean of the duration of disease was 54.6 (SD = 56.1) months and mean of the duration of referring to the clinics 6.5 (SD = 6.9) months. Total score of MMAS was zero in 33 (10.3%) of patients (high adherence), one or two in 128 (40%) of patients (moderate adherence), and more than two in 159 (49.7%) of patients (low adherence). Forgetfulness, bad taste, not availability, and the high cost of the drugs were the most commonly reported causes of non‑adherence. Adherence was associated with age(odds ratio[OR] =1.05, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1–1.1), marriage (OR = 10.8, 95% CI 2.05–57.6), number of prescribed drugs (OR = 0.05, 95% CI 0.02–0.14), and duration of disease (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 1–1.02).

Considering the low adherence in users of medications of Iranian traditional medicine, health care practitioners need to be trained in adherence and the influencing factors and also to use some interventions to increase the adherence.

Community pharmacy educational program needs to be completed because of gradual transition in pharmacist responsibilities from traditional roles such as dispensing and compounding medications to give professional patient‑based care. To further develop the community pharmacy program, this study was designed to involve Logbook in pharmacy training courses.

For this study, at first, Logbook for community pharmacy practice was designed to develop educational program of this course in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Thereafter, in a 6‑month prospective study, this Logbook was incorporated to the pharmacy practice course of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) educational program, and students’ feedbacks were gained after final examination to improve the Logbook accordingly. Students described their opinions about different sections of this program as unnecessary, necessary, and necessary with revision.

A total of 65 PharmD students were included in this study. More than 90% of the students gave complete answers to the evaluation of this pharmacy training program. The results showed that more than 70% of students considered this program of pharmacy training was necessary(with or without revisions) in PharmD courses. They recommended more time to be included for prescription reading and analyses during these courses.

Developing pharmacy training program by using Logbook which was presented in this study was considered necessary and efficient for PharmD students. However, it is a prototype system, and we are committed to using initial students and preceptors’ feedbacks to improve Logbook in future courses.

Opportunistic infections like cytomegalovirus (CMV) are among the primary causes of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing hematipoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This infection is frequently seen in early postengraftment period. So we determined to find the risk factors associated with CMV reactivation.

We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of 126 consecutive patients who underwent allogenic‑HSCT from peripheral blood stem cells from August 2011 to February 2013 in Shariati Hospital. We included HSCT patients with 15 years of age or older, who survived at least 100 days after transplantation. CMV reactivation was detected based on the weekly PP65 assessment. Patients with 10 or more positive cells per 50,000 cells were defined as having high‑level antigenemia.

From 126 patients which included in this study, 76 were male (60%). CMV antigenemia was documented in 43 patients (34%). The median time to CMV infection was 40 days (range: 3–77) after transplantation. The incidence of high‑level antigenemia during the first 100 days following HSCT was 11%.

We found that the significant risk factor for CMV antigenemia in multivariate analysis was prior graft‑versus‑host disease (GVHD) experience and higher donor age. For high‑level antigenemia, GVHD or duration of its treatment was significant determinant.

Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptom (DRESS) is a severe adverse drug‑induced reaction with a prolonged latency period which is characterized by a variety of clinical manifestations, usually fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, eosinophilia, and a wide range of mild‑to‑severe systemic presentations. Drugs are an important cause of DRESS in most of the cases. It is challenging to diagnose DRESS because of the diversity of cutaneous eruption and visceral organs involvement. We hereby report a 34‑year‑old female who developed DRESS syndrome following ingestion of nitrofurantoin for the treatment of urinary tract infection. She was managed conservatively and recovered after few weeks. Our aim of this study is to raise awareness to suspect DRESS syndrome in patients who present with unusual clinical features with skin involvement after initiating any drug.