TO EVALUATE THE HYPOGLYCEMIC EFFECT OF THE FRUIT PULP EXTRACT OF SPONDIAS PINNATA LINN. KURZ ON EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF DIABETES MELLITUS

ABSTRACTObjective: To study the hypoglycemic effect of the fruit pulp extract of Spondias pinnata Linn. Kurz (EESP) on an experimental model of diabetes inalbino rats.Methods: A total of 30 healthy adult Swiss albino rats of either sex weighing between 150 g and 200 g were divided into five groups containing6 animals each. All the animals were kept under fasting for 24 hrs. Animals were given free access to rat - chew and water ad libitum. Alloxanmonohydrate of 120 mg/kg in normal saline was given intraperitoneally to induce diabetes. The blood glucose was checked before alloxanization andafter 24 hrs of alloxanization by withdrawing blood from the tip of the tail of each rat under anesthesia. The animals were considered diabetic whenthe blood glucose level has raised beyond 225 mg/dl. Group A, which was control group, has received alloxan and normal saline. The standard drug,glibenclamide 2.5 mg/kg, was given orally in Group B. Group C, Group D, and Group E animals have received EESP orally at the dose of 100 mg/kg,200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg, respectively. Blood samples were collected after treatment from rat tails vein at 0 hr, 2 hrs, 4 hrs, 8 hrs, and 14 days. Dataobtained were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test.Results: EESP has shown hypoglycemic action in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Hypoglycemic action of this ethanolic extract is comparable to that ofglibenclamide.Conclusion: This study demonstrates hypoglycemic action of EESP in the experimental model of diabetic rats.Keywords: Hypoglycemic, Spondias pinnata, Diabetes mellitus

A STUDY OF DRUG UTILIZATION PATTERN OF THE GERIATRIC PATIENTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF GERIATRIC MEDICINE IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN ASSAM, INDIA

Objective: To investigate the drug utilization pattern and the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) using updated AGS Beers criteria 2012 among the elderly patients who attended the geriatric outpatient departments as well as admitted  indoor patients ina tertiary care Hospital at Guwahati, Assam, India.Method: A hospital based prospective, observational and cross sectional study, involving patients aged 65 years and above was planned and conducted over a period of 6 months from January 2016 to June 2016. Patients were visited daily, interviewed and case records were collected. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel Sheets.Results: A total of 150 patients aged 65 years and above were analyzed. 97 patients (65%) were males and 53 (35%) were females. Majority of the patients (61 numbers, 41%) belonged to the age group of 65-70 years, and least were in the age group of 86-90 years (13 numbers, 9%). Prescription of five or more medications (polypharmacy) was observed in 117 (78%) patients. Majority of the patients presented with diseases of cardiovascular system (25.7%). Using WHO drug use indicators, the average number of drugs per prescription was found to be 5.6. The percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name was 86%. The percentage of encounters in which antibiotics were prescribed was  61%. Injection was prescribed was 65% cases and the percentage of drugs prescribed from the NLEM (National List of Essential Medicines of India) was 96%.  43 patients received PIMs from Beers list; majority were belonging to category 1. Spironolactone was most commonly prescribed PIM.Conclusion:  Irrational prescribing practices and polypharmacy were detected in our study.Prescribers should be educated about rational use of drugs and Beers criteria for elderly. Keywords: Beers criteria, WHO prescribing indicators, Potentially inappropriate medications, Elderly patients, Polypharmac

TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF PHARMACOVIGILANCE AND ADVERSE DRUG REACTION REPORTING AMONG THE UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL IN ASSAM: A QUESTIONNAIRE BASED STUDY.

AIM : Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) is an important factor contributing to mortality and morbidity worldwide. Since undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students are the future caregivers to the patients, it is important that they have sound knowledge, positive attitude and good practice of pharmacovigilance. Hence this study was conducted to assess their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of PV and ADR reporting. Also, secondarily this study also tried to look into the impact of Competency based Medical Education (CBME) on the KAP of the students. METHOD: Questionnaire based, observational and cross sectional study. Questionairre was pre-validated and consisted of 30 questions to assess the KAP of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Assam. RESULTS: Total 419 students participated in the study. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel Sheet and Student T test. Both UGs and PGs have good knowledge about PV, ADR and types of ADRs to be reported. They also have positive attitude but in practice only few have actually filled up ADR form. Mean score analysis showed p value was significant for attitude and practice among the UGs and PGs and highly significant for knowledge, attitude and practice when the CBME and Old Curriculum was compared. CONCLUSION: Although students have good knowledge and attitude, they need to improve in their practice. Regular training and awareness programmes might help in educating them about PV and ADR reporting. However, introduction of CBME curriculum has shown to improve the knowledge and attitude  of the students about PVand ADR reporting

ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS E-LEARNING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN GAUHATI MEDICAL COLLEGE, GUWAHATI, ASSAM –A PILOT STUDY

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To conduct a pilot study in order to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of e-learning among undergraduate medical students. METHOD: An observational, questionnaire-based and cross-sectional pilot study was carried out for a period of 1 month among undergraduate medical students of Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (13 from each phase of MBBS). We compared the responses of knowledge, attitude and practice among the participants of each phase of MBBS. RESULTS: A total of 52 undergraduate medical students participated in the study. 43(82.69%) were males and 9 (17.31%) were females with a mean age of 21.63±1.63.18(34.62%) owned a personal laptop or computer and 45 (86.54%) of them had access to internet facility. Majority of them i.e. 48(92.31%) used only smartphones and were competent in using software applications. Most of them agreed that e-learning should be supplemented in regular teaching curriculum (76.92%). Statistical analysis was done by using one-way ANOVA and post hoc test(Tukey), to know the mean KAP score of e-learning among the participants of three phases of MBBS and also the significance of knowledge, attitude and practice towards e-learning. It showed that p value was significant in case of knowledge and practice but not in case of attitude. CONCLUSION: The results that were found in each category of knowledge, attitude and practice towards e-learning were almost comparable to other studies which were conducted using a structured and validated questionnaire. Thus e-learning can be a useful tool in enhancing the learning experience among students. KEYWORDS: Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, e-learning, Questionnaire, MBB

PRESCRIPTION PATTERN OF PROPHYLACTIC ANTIEMETICS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS: A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT Objective: To study the prescription pattern of prophylactic antiemetics in breast cancer patients. Methods:A retrospective observational study was carried out. Over a period of three months, all chemotherapy order sheets of breast cancer patients were collected and evaluated for prophylaxis of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. We compared each antiemetic drug used for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting prophylaxis with international antiemetic guidelines, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Results: A total of 103 breast cancer patients were included in the study, for whom 141 chemotherapy physician prescriptions included antiemetic drugs. Approximately 51.06% of anticancer agents had high emetic risk, 2.13% had moderate emetic risk, 43.26% and 3.55% of anticancer agents had low and minimal emetic risk respectively. Most frequently prescribed anticancer drug was Paclitaxel 49(34.75%). 43.97% of the antiemetic regimen were found following  NCCN guidelines. Conclusion: The development of institutional policy for assessment and guidance  of the chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) prophylaxis may improve the consistency between antiemetic prescribing and guidelines.    Keywords: Breast cancer, Antiemetic, Chemotherapy, Nausea, Vomitin