Acute Toxicity Sudy of Eladi Quatha: A Compound Ayurvedic Formulation

In the modern era, the Indian Ayurvedic system of Medicine is believed to treat diseases from the root cause. The ayurvedic system claims to have many indigenous plants and herbal preparations, which provide therapeutic benefit in the treatment of kidney diseases. Aim – To study the benefits of herbal preparation Eladi quatha for kidney disease Urothalisis. Method - This study was undertaken to explore the effects of Eladi quatha in animals to treat kidney stone diseases. However, no safety profile for this formulation has been reported to date; thus, in this study, freshly prepared Eladi quatha was evaluated for acute toxicity. Acute toxicity test was evaluated as per OECD 423 guidelines with 5000 mg/kg as a limit test in Wistar strain Albino rats. Test formulations were administered to overnight fasted animals and parameters like body weight, behavioral changes, and mortality were assessed for 14 days. Hematological and biochemical parameters were assessed on the 14th day after administration. Result - No significant changes were noted in terms of behavioral changes, mortality, and body weight. The samples did not affect any of the hematological parameters. However, an increase in blood urea level was observed. Conclusion- This study concludes that freshly prepared Eladi quatha is relatively safe up to the dose of 5000 mg/kg. However, further chronic toxicity evaluation is necessary to establish its safety profile on chronic administration

Prescribing quality in patients with chronic diseases at primary and secondary health care facilities using prescription quality index tool

Background: Prescribing quality is a matter of major concern worldwide. This study was carried out to determine the quality of prescribing in chronic diseases at primary health care (PHC) and secondary health care (SHC) settings using the new prescription quality index (PQI) tool.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out at four PHC and two SHC facilities in Anand district of India. Patients attending these facilities for at least 3 months were included. Complete medical history and prescriptions received were noted. Total and criteria wise PQI scores were derived for each prescription. Prescriptions were categorized as poor (score of ≤31), medium (score 32-33), and high quality (score 34-43) based on PQI total score. The internal consistency of PQI was measured using item total correlation and Cronbach’s α so as to validate it in our settings. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science 20.Results: A total of 134 prescriptions were collected and evaluated for quality of prescribing. Mean age of patients was 60.6 ± 13.5 years. Mean PQI score was 23.60 ± 9.3 with 71.6% prescriptions being of poor quality. Quality of prescribing did not differ at PHC and SHC (P>0.05). Of 22 criteria, PQI score was strongly correlated with drug indication, drug effectiveness, evidence-based prescribing, unnecessary duplication, duration of therapy, and cost (P<0.01). PQI total score was negatively correlated to the number of drugs per prescription. Cronbach’s α for the entire 22 criteria were 0.90.Conclusion: PQI was found to be a reliable tool for assessment of prescribing quality in chronic diseases

Inclusive Review on Existing Treatment and Management Modalities for Covid-19

COVID 19 is widely regarded as one of the worst pandemics of the twenty-first century. The World Health Organization (WHO) named the viral infection caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which was first reported in December 2019, as severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), and it became a cause of death for many all over the world. As a result, a unique inquiry and clinical trial to find a solution for this catastrophic pandemic disease is under way. To manage and eradicate the disease, effective vaccinations and antiviral therapies are urgently needed. There were no treatments or vaccines available for this fatal virus at first, but several medications that are used to treat other diseases are now being used to treat Covid19. Remdesivir has been licenced for therapy since it has shown to shorten hospital stays. Corticosteroids reduced mortality in patients requiring oxygen supplementation or mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this review is to make readers aware of the possible efficacy and availability treatment for this viral infection

EVALUATION OF PRESCRIBING PATTERN OF FIXED DOSE COMBINATIONS OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVES AND ANTIDIABETIC AGENTS

  Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate prescribing pattern of fixed dose combinations (FDCs) of antihypertensives and antidiabetic agents among patients of private hospitals.Methods: An observational study was carried out in the outpatient department of two hospitals. Data of patients being diagnosed with the symptoms of hypertension and diabetes were enrolled which mainly included information related to prescribe FDCs, i.e., antihypertensives and antidiabetics, respectively. Descriptive analysis of collected information was done which involved representation of demographical data, number of comorbidities, number of FDCs prescribed, and type of FDCs consequently.Results: Combination drug therapy was prescribed in maximum patients, which was enumerated as 93% among hypertensive patients and about 91% in diabetics. Average age of patients suffering more from hypertension was 64.5±18 years and that in case of diabetes sufferers was 54.5±18 years. The most frequent combination prescribed in hypertensive patients was of angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and calcium channel blocker (CCB) which were about 53%, and in diabetic patients, it was of biguanides and sulfonylureas about 63%. Comorbidity too was notified, and its estimation was 61% in hypertensive patients and 72% in diabetic patients, respectively.Conclusion: The study here demonstrates that the most often prescribed antihypertensive combination is of ARB and CCB, and subsequently for diabetes, the oral hypoglycemic combination is of biguanides and sulfonylureas. Most of FDCs contained medications of these two classes. Positive results were also observed in levels of blood pressure and glucose within the normal range

Drug Utilization Pattern in Patients with Different Types of Dementia in Western India

Background. Dementia is one of the most frequent disorders among elderly patients, reaching to epidemic proportions with an estimated 4.6 million new cases globally annually. Partially effective treatments are available for dementia. Aims & Objectives. We aim to study drugs used in dementia and find out frequency of types of Dementia. Method. This was an observational study conducted at rurally based tertiary care hospital. Prospective data was collected from outpatient department, while retrospective data was collected from medical records. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. Result. Total 125 prescriptions of patients diagnosed with dementia were analyzed. Alzheimer’s dementia was most common (65.6%), followed by vascular dementia (21.6%), and frontotemporal dementia (10.4%), with the rarest being Lewy body dementia in (2.4%) cases. 60.57% of patients were males. Mini Mental Score Examination mean score was 15.93 ± 1.37. Frontal Battery Assessment mean score was 4.75 ± 1.01. Prescribed drugs were Donepezil (68.49%), Rivastigmine (13.63%), Donepezil + Memantine (6.43%) and Galantamine (12.83%), Quetiapine (38.46%), Lorazepam (23.07%), Clozapine (11.53%), Escitalopram (10.25%), Haloperidol (3.84%), Zolpidem, Sertraline, Olanzepine (2.56%), Nitrazepine, Lamotrigine, Fluoxetine, Tianeptine (1.28%), Folic acid, and Vitamin B12, respectively. Conclusion. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia while Donepezil was the most frequent drug

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICES OF SELF-MEDICATION AMONG THE STUDENTS OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITY

Objectives: Self-medication is becoming very common in our routine life which is an unhealthy and risky practice in a few instances. The present study was carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among students of Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT). Methods: A pre-validated questionnaire was prepared and distributed among the students. Data was collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and the results expressed as counts and percentages. Results: A total of 431 students participated voluntarily in the study. The most common reason for taking self-medication was found in 70% of total students. We found that the source of information of the drugs used for self-medication was “previous prescription (57%)” and source of drugs was “medical store (66%).” Only (46%) students accepted the fact that they always visited a qualified practitioner whenever they felt ill. Most of the students took self-medication for headache (82%) followed by cough, cold, and sore throat (62%) and fever (57%). Of total 431 students, most of the students took analgesics (78%) as self-medication followed by lozenges (50%). Conclusion: Self-medication was common in nearly 70% of university students. They provided the reason that “no needs to visit the doctor for minor illness.” Cough and cold preparations were taken by 82% population as self-medication

Knowledge, attitude and practice of self medication among the staff-members of Charotar University of Science and Technology: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self Medication among the Staff-members

Self-medication raises its occurrence in many situations in our everyday lives, which is an inappropriate and harmful practice. A research framework was conducted to evaluate the awareness, attitude and practice of self-medication among the CHARUSAT University staff members. Among the staff members, a pre-validated questionnaire was circulated. Using Microsoft Excel, information was gathered and evaluated and the results were represented as numbers and percentages. A total of 136 staff-members voluntarily took part in the study. We found that source of information of the drugs used for self-medication were “previous prescription (77.7%)” and the source of drugs was “medical store (78.8%)”. Only (34.3%) staff-members accepted the fact that they always visited a qualified practitioner whenever they got sick. Most of the staff-members took self-medication for headache (73.5%) followed by cough, cold, sore throat (73.5%) and fever (56.6%). Out of total 136 staff-members, most of them took Analgesics (61.8%) as self-medication followed by lozenges (66.2%). For almost 66.9 % of university staff members, self-medication was common. They provided a reason that “no need to visit a doctor for minor illnesses”. 73.5 % of the population has taken cough and cold preparations as self-medication