Belief about Medications Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients Attending the National Diabetes Center in Iraq.

Diabetes mellitus is a common health problem worldwide counting about 1.2 million cases in Iraq in 2015. Taking in account of the patients beliefs about the prescribed medication had been reported to be one of the most important factors that affects adherence where holding positive beliefs about medications is a prerequisite for intentional adherence. The aim of the current study was to investigate and assess beliefs about medicines among type 2 diabetic patients and to determine possible association between this belief and glycemic control as well as some patient-specific factors. This study is a cross-sectional study carried out on 380 (mean age 56.58 10.06 years) already diagnosed T2DM patients who attended the National Diabetes Center, Al-Mustansiriya University Baghdad/ Iraq during December-2016 to March-2017. Belief about medicine was assessed by using an arabic version of the questionnaire. The patients had a stronger agreement with the mean necessity scale (19.29) than the mean concern scale (14.27). The majority of the patients (76.3%) had strong beliefs in the necessity of anti-diabetic treatment for maintaining good control of diabetes (scores of specific-necessity was greater than score of specific-concern). However, (18.4%) of the patients reported strong concerns about the anti-diabetic treatment (scores of specific-concern greater than score of specific-necessity). The small number of the patients (5.3%), have equal scores for specific-necessity and specific-concern scores. The patient's belief about medicine was found to be poor predictor of  good glycemic control

Adherence to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Guideline in Medical City Teaching Hospitals/Baghdad

Surgical site infections are the second most common type of adverse events occurring in hospitalized patients. Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis refers to the use of preoperative and postoperative antibiotics to decrease the incidence of postoperative wound infections. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antibiotic administration pattern for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis and the adherence to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists surgical antibiotic prophylaxis guideline in Medical City Teaching Hospitals/Baghdad. The medical records of one hundred patients who underwent elective surgical procedures were reviewed. Adherence to the recommendations of American society of health‑system pharmacists guideline was assessed for every aspect of antibiotic prophylaxis. The results of this study showed that antibiotic(s) had been administered to all of the patients involved in the study despite the fact that 34 patients (34%) were not required such prophylaxis.  While in case of administration time, 13 patients (13%) had received the antibiotic(s) at correct time while 87 patients (87%) at incorrect time. Proper antibiotic(s) selection was found in 11 patients (11.0%) only. All of the patients (100.0%) had received more than 2 doses, and all of them were not in concordance with surgical site infection prevention guidelines. In addition, 19 patients (19.0%) with surgical site infections were identified during hospital stay or within 30 days after surgery. According to these results, we can conclude that there was a substantial gap between surgical antibiotic prophylaxis guideline and their implementation in daily practice in Medical City Teaching Hospitals/Baghdad. Keywords: Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Guidelines, American Society of Health System Pharmacists guidelines, Medical City Teaching Hospitals/Baghdad.

Analysis of Docetaxel Adverse Drug Reactions: A Retrospective Study Based on Iraqi Pharmacovigilance Center Database

Docetaxel is an effective treatment approved for many types of cancers, but its effectiveness in clinical practice can be compromised by significant occurrence of adverse drug reactions. The aim of the current study was to measure the distribution of adverse drug reactions of docetaxel reported in Iraq and to assess the causality, severity, seriousness, preventability, expectedness and outcome of these adverse reactions. A retrospective study conducted on individual case safety reports from the Iraqi Pharmacovigilance Center / Ministry of Health. The study included 118 individual case safety report containing 236 adverse drug reactions. Most of the adverse drug reactions were related to skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders(26.7%), followed by respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders (20.8%), gastrointestinal disorders (17.4%) and general disorders and administration site conditions (10.6%). The majority of these reactions with possible causality (68.6%), moderate severity (75.4%), expected (80.5%), possibly preventable (93.2%), and serious (80.5%). In addition the most common outcome of adverse drug reactions was recovered / resolved (46.19%)

Assessment of Quality of Life in a Sample of Iraqi Patients with Psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a dermatological, chronic, immune-mediated condition. Psoriasis symptoms are not associated with physical burden only, but it may also have psychosocial effects on patients, diminished cognitive control, poor body image and impairments in everyday life. The value of quality of life is important since improving it is the principal goal for non-curative disease. The aim of the current study was to evaluate quality of life in a sample of Iraqi patients with psoriasis. This study is a cross-sectional study that involved 300 already diagnosed psoriasis patients who attended to the center of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical City/Baghdad. The mean age of patients was (35.156 ±10.549 years). The Arabic version of Dermatology Life Quality Index was used to assess quality of life.  The mean total score is 11.29± 5.45 and the majority of the patients (53.7%) had a total score of more than 10, which indicates a significant deterioration in patients’ quality of life. The greatest impact was found in symptoms and feelings (mean = 1.66 ± 0.75) while the lowest impact was noted in personal relationships (0.51± 0.65). Increasing age and monthly income as well as vulgaris type of psoriasis associated significantly better quality of life. While Psoriasis Area and Severity Index associated significantly worse quality of life. In conclusion, psoriasis exerts significant, negative impact on patients’ quality of life, especially among those with younger age, lower monthly income, high disease activity, and types of psoriasis other than vulgaris.