Icelandic community pharmacists' and pharmacy students' expectations of future role extensions and education requirements: a cross sectional survey.

Aim: To explore the expectations of Icelandic community pharmacists and final year pharmacy students on future role extensions and associated education needs. Methods: All community pharmacists across Iceland registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Iceland (LFI) (n=136) and all fourth- and fifth-year pharmacy students enrolled at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Iceland (n=69). An online cross-sectional questionnaire was designed, validated, piloted and analysed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression and content analysis. Results: The response rate was 27.9% (n=38) for community pharmacists and 33.3% (n=23) for fourth- and fifth-year pharmacy students respectively. Of these, 90.2% (n=55) saw the need for community pharmacists’ role extensions and most (n=60, 98.4%) were willing to accept additional education to make role extensions in Iceland possible. Logistic regression identified that students identified the need for pharmacists to be making prescribing recommendations to medical healthcare professionals (p=0.023); for example 'Pharmacists should use their knowledge to give advice and collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals about drug therapies'. Conclusion: Both community pharmacists and pharmacy students showed a strong willingness to extend their roles in the future. It will require government support to overcome perceived barriers and to develop further education programmes

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Use of medication, supplements and natural products during pregnancy

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadInngangur: Lyfjanotkun á meðgöngu er talin algeng og oft nauðsynleg, þrátt fyrir að skortur sé á rannsóknum og gagnreyndum upplýsingum um notkun lyfja á meðgöngu. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að kanna lyfjanotkun þungaðra kvenna fyrstu 20 vikur meðgöngu. Einnig að kanna notkun vítamína, steinefna, fitusýra og náttúruvara. Viðhorf kvenna til slíkrar notkunar á meðgöngu var einnig kannað ásamt upplýsingaöflun þeirra. Efniviður og aðferðir: Rannsóknin var framkvæmd á fósturgreiningardeild Landspítala á tímabilinu janúar til apríl 2017. Konum sem mættu í 20 vikna ómskoðun var boðin þátttaka og spurningalisti þá lagður fyrir konurnar í kjölfar skoðunar. Niðurstöður: Af 213 þátttakendum notuðu 90% lyf einhvern tíma á fyrstu 20 vikum meðgöngu. Um 80% lyfjanna falla í FASS-öryggisflokka A og B og samkvæmt því talið óhætt að nota þau á meðgöngu. Aðeins 14% kvennanna notaði ekki fólínsýru fyrstu 12 vikurnar og voru tengsl við ungan aldur (p=0,019) og búsetu utan höfuðborgarsvæðisins (p=0,03). Hlutfall kvenna sem notuðu náttúruvörur var 14% en upplýsingar skortir um notkun þeirra á meðgöngu. Mikill meirihluti kvennanna (81%) taldi sig hafa fengið fullnægjandi upplýsingar þegar lyfi var ávísað og 94% þeirra taldi sig hafa aðgengi að fullnægjandi upplýsingum um lyf á meðgöngu. Algengast var að leita á netið (51%) eða til ljósmóður (44%). Ályktanir: Niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar sýna að algengt er að konur taki lyf og fæðubótarefni á meðgöngu. Notkun flestra lyfjanna telst örugg á meðgöngu. Meirihluti barnshafandi kvenna tekur fólínsýru. Barnshafandi konur hafa rökrétt og allajafna jákvætt viðhorf til lyfjanotkunar á meðgöngu.Introduction: Evidence-based information regarding the use of medication during pregnancy is lacking, even though the use of medication during pregnancy is considered common and often neccesary. The aim of this study was to obtain reliable information on the use of medications during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and the use of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, herbs and other natural products. Women´s attitude and beliefs towards the use of medications was also examined. Material and methods: The study was conducted at the Prenatal Diagnosis Unit at Landspitali from January to April 2017. Women who attended routine ultrasound examination at 20 weeks were offered to participate. A questionnaire was submitted to partici­pants in an interview with the researcher following the doctor's appointment. Results: Of the 213 participants, 90% used medication at least once during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Approximately 80% of these medications belong to FASS safety classes A and B and are considered safe during pregnancy. The proportion of women who did not use folic acid was 14% which was associated with residence in rural areas (p=0.03) and younger age (p=0.019). Natural products were used by 14% but information about their safety is lacking. The majority (81%) was satisfied with the information they received when a drug was prescribed and 94% said they had sufficient access to information about medication use during pregnancy. The most commonly used sources of information were the internet (51%) and the local midwive (44%). Conclusion: The use of medications and supplements during pregnancy is common. Most medications being used are considered safe during pregnancy. The majority of pregnant women take folic acid. Pregnant women have a logical and generally a positive attitude towards medication use during pregnancy