Evaluation Of Antibiotics Prescribing Pattern In Government Hospitals Of Yemen Republic

Kajian penggunaan ubat adalah penting dalam menentukan status penggunaan ubat dalam sesuatu negara. Drug utilization study is important in establishing the status of drug use in a particular country

An Evaluation Of Healthcare Expenditure Policies And Development Of A University-Based Sustainable Healthcare Financing Model

Escalation of healthcare cost is a world-wide problem. Assessing and improving the healthcare financing system should be a part of any agenda for healthcare reforms. To balance the current health accounts, especially in the case of deficit, three variables can be considered- the government subsides, the co-payment and the contribution rate of the insurance. In this thesis, evaluations for health care financing system at University Sains Malaysia (USM) and simulation model were used to address the issues in the current USM healthcare financing system. Then, examine a number of alternative scenarios using health insurance simulation model “SimIns”, by paying special attention to forecasted changes in health expenditure and feasibility of financing those changes

Knowledge, attitude and practice of medical and health sciences students in IIUM Kuantan regarding human papilloma virus vaccination

Introduction: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the major causal agent for fourth most frequent cancer in women which is cervical cancer. HPV vaccine is already available as the primary prophylactic method for cervical cancer. The objective of this study is to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding HPV and its vaccination among medical and health sciences students in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Materials and Methods: This study was conducted from November until December 2017. Pre-tested and validated questionnaire was distributed among third year students from faculties of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and allied health sciences. Results: The results shows that total knowledge of students was good for medicine and dentistry student while poor for pharmacy and allied health sciences students. Medicine students showed the highest level of knowledge compared to other faculties (p=0.000016). The majority of students has a positive attitude towards HPV vaccination. Conclusion: In conclusion, the levels of knowledge and attitude of the respondents were high and positive, respectively. Small percentage of students are fully vaccinated (13.65%, 37) with no significant difference between different faculties. More awareness, healthcare programs and campaigns should be run at the campus

Awareness of the risk factors for heart attack among the general public in Pahang, Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading nationwide cause of morbidity and mortality. Public awareness of risk factors for heart attacks is thought to impact the burden of disease, prevention, and timely management. The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of risk factors for heart attack and to identify the factors associated with the awareness of all modifiable risk factors for heart attack in the general population. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 393 adult individuals in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. Data collection was conducted through face-to-face interviews among the lay public members who were 18– 64 years old, excluding healthcare professionals in clinical settings and academic settings. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. Results: The majority of the individuals identified smoking as a risk factor for heart attack, followed by atrial fibrillation (57.7%), heart disease (54.1%), and obesity (53.8%). However, diabetes (26%) was the risk factor that was least recognized by the participants. A total of 90.6% of participants identified at least one risk factor for heart attack, while 9.8% of the participants did not identify any risk factors for heart attack, whereas 5.6% identified all modifiable heart attack risk factors. Furthermore, participants aged 46– 64 years old, married respondents, and Chinese participants, those with higher educational levels, and received prior information demonstrated great awareness of eight modifiable risk factors for heart attack. Multivariable logistic regression presented that participants with aged 55– 64, those with family history of heart attack and individuals with dyslipidemia were factors independently related to excellent awareness (p=0.04, OR=6.21, 95% CL= 1.081– 35.641), (p=0.049, OR=2.11, 95% CL=0.721– 6.230) and (p=0.009, OR= 4.08, 95% CL= 1.427– 11.685), respectively. Conclusion: Awareness of risk factors for heart attack appears to be poor, where most of the respondents recognized only one modifiable risk factor. According to these findings, programs and strategies to raise awareness of modifiable risk factors for HA are urgently needed to protect the lay public from HA

Moxibustion (artemisia plant at acupuncture point) as alternative therapy in hypertension: a promising approach

Hypertension is a pathological condition in which the blood pressure is higher than under normal physiological conditions, i.e., 140/90 mmHg or higher. Blood pressure is measured as the force exerted by the blood pumped by the heart against the walls of arteries (aorta) and distributed throughout the body. Use of complementary and alternative medicine as a cure for hypertension is a common phenomenon because of the high risk of cardiovascular complications and kidney diseases caused by conventional Western medicine. It is reported that high blood pressure causes ~49% of myocardial infarction and 62% of strokes. Effective treatment of hypertension is restricted by adverse effects and cost of the medication. Moxibustion is the application of heat by burning a small bundle of tightly bound moxa, to targeted acupoint, and sometimes it is used along with acupuncture. Encouraging results have been reported on randomized trials indicating the ef cacy of moxibustion. But more controlled clinical trials are required to further establish the potential ef cacy of moxibustion approach in hypertension

The need of pharmacovigilance activities in Yemen

Adverse drug reactions, medication errors and other drug-related problems are the leading causes of hospitallisation and are associated with a huge economic burden and significant human suffering. This serious issue of medication therapy also contributes to morbidity and mortality. At present, the monitoring of adverse drug reactions was started in Yemen by establishing a pharmacovigilance centre in 2011. Till now there is no published information about its work , number of reports and how they process it. The country and public are facing with many safety problems related to drug smuggling, counterfeit drugs, improper and irrational use of drugs, importation of unnecessary drugs and medical errors. Therefore, it is necessary to make serious steps and active regulations in Yemen to ensure patients and public safety in relation to medicines use

Prevalence of awareness, attitude, and practice towards tobacco use among general public in Kuantan

Introduction: Several studies had been conducted to assess the awareness, attitude, and practice of a specific population towards cigarette smoking. However, other tobacco products are mostly neglected. In Malaysia, many tobacco products such as cigarettes, hand-rolled tobacco, shisha, cigar, pipe, and chewy tobacco are easily accessible. Yet, there are no established studies of tobacco use specifically among the general public in Kuantan. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of tobacco use among the Kuantan general public and to assess the awareness, attitude and practice towards tobacco use. Method: This is a cross-sectional study. A pre-tested, structured, self-administered questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample (N = 202) in Kuantan from October to December 2018. The questionnaire was validated by experts and a pilot study was conducted to establish its reliability. Data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive as well as inferential analysis. Results: The prevalence among the respondents was 43.6% (n = 88), in which 98.2% were males. Most of the respondents reported high awareness (91.1%) about tobacco use with the highest scores being achieved by males and those between 38 and 47 years old (96.0%). The majority of respondents demonstrated a positive attitude (97.02%) towards tobacco use, particularly among females and those between 38 and 47 years old (100%). In terms of practice, almost 50.5% reported poor practice, especially females and those who are between 18 and 27 years old. Conclusion: The prevalence of tobacco use among the general public of Kuantan is considered high. Most of the people in Kuantan have good awareness and attitude, however, their practice towards tobacco use was poor

Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards antibiotic use among the public in the city of Kuantan, Pahang state, Malaysia

Background: Public knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotic use play a vital role in the success of controlling antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to assess the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) towards antibiotic use in Kuantan, Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the general public above 18 years old. The data was collected in public places using a pre-validated questionnaire. Software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for statistical analyses. Results: Out of 410 participants who answered the questionnaire, 229 (55.9%) of them were female and 288 (70.3%) had a college/university degree. It was found that 258 participants (62.9%) have good knowledge and 306 of them (74.6%) have positive attitude towards antibiotic use. However, 160 respondents (39%) believe that antibiotics can kill viruses and 183 respondents (44.6%) stated that they would ask the doctor to give them antibiotics in case they have common cold symptoms. Having a good knowledge was significantly related to the age (P=0.005), employment status (P<0.001), education level (P<0.001), and the field of work or study (P<0.001). Furthermore, 313 of the sample (76.3%) had an overall good practice. However, 162 participants (39.5%) do not complete their antibiotic course. Additionally, 57 participants (13.9%) share and 69 of them (16.8%) use the leftover antibiotics. Showing a good practice correlated to the field of work/study (P =0.04), level of knowledge (Spearman's rho = 0.373; P<0.001) and attitude (Spearman's rho = 0.55; P<0.001). Conclusion: Although the majority of the public showed good KAP, there are still important gaps that need to be filled. Therefore, a public educational campaign is needed to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotic use

Evaluation of antibiotic prescribing pattern and appropriateness among hospitalized pediatric patients: findings from a Malaysian teaching hospital

Background: Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for hospitalized children. However, only a limited number of studies have evaluated antibiotic use in this population. The current work assessed the indication, prescribing pattern and appropriateness of antibiotics among pediatric inpatients. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the pediatric wards of a teaching hospital in Malaysia. Electronic charts of inpatients (≤12 years old) admitted in 2019 were reviewed. Antibiotic indication, selection, dosing regimen, route of administration and duration of treatment were evaluated using the national antibiotic guidelines (NAG). A binomial logistic regression was applied to test potential predictors of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing (IAP) incidence. Results: Out of 702 pediatric inpatients, 292 (41.6%) patients were given antibiotics and met the inclusion criteria. More than half of the patients (57.9%) were males, with a median age of 2.5 years. A total of 385 and 285 antibiotics were prescribed during hospitalization and at discharge, respectively. Azithromycin, co-amoxiclav and cefuroxime were the top three prescribed agents. Out of 670 prescriptions, IAP was identified in 187 (28%) prescriptions that were issued for 169 (57.9%) out of the 292 patients included in the study. Improper antibiotic selection, wrong dose and unnecessary antibiotic prescribing accounted for 41%, 34% and 10% of the identified IAP, respectively. Giving lower-than-recommended doses (28%) was more prevalent than prescribing higher doses (5%). The use of two antibiotics and treating upper respiratory tract infections were independent risk factors for IAP incidence. Conclusions: Prescribers did not adhere to the NAG in more than one quarter of the prescriptions. This may increase the risk of treatment failure, adverse drug reactions and the development of antibiotic resistance

Evaluation of the quality of prescriptions with antibiotics in the government hospitals of Yemen

Introduction: Irrational prescribing is a habit which is difficult to counteract and this may lead to ineffective treatment, health risks, patient non-compliance, drug wastage, wasting resources and needless expenditure. Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the prescribing of antibiotics in Yemen and provide a baseline picture of prescribing habits. It presented an overview on the quality of prescribing and the resulting patterns coming from the prescriptions. Methods: The scope of the study was limited to four public quaternary health care facilities in Sana’a, Yemen. A prospective drug utilization review method was used in this study. Results: Results showed that the total number of brand name antibiotics prescribed was 76.8%, and 27.5% of the antibiotics were not on the Yemen Essential Drug List (YEDL). Out of all prescriptions, it was found that 51.0% contained antibiotics. Antibiotic prescriptions were lacking in many areas of important information: the diagnosis, patient’s name, gender and age as well as for the prescribed antibiotics information (strength, dosage form, dose, frequency and duration). The average number of antibiotics per each patient received was 1.2 ± 0.4(median = 1) and the percentage of antibiotics prescribed as injections was 27.8%. Conclusion: The patterns which emerged in prescribing showed that there were various potential problems in antibiotic usage in the government quaternary hospitals in Yemen. Advocacy, education and awareness initiatives are required to alleviate these problems