Evaluation of the practice of self-medication among undergraduates of Imo State University (IMSU) Owerri, South-East Nigeria

Background: The concept of self-medication entails the use of drugs, herbs or home remedies on an individual’s own initiative or on the advice of another person within his or her environment without consulting a qualified medical health services provider. It is widely practised in both developing and developed countries, and empirical evidence shows that great populations of persons in our communities indulge in the practice.Objective: To evaluate the practice of self-medication among undergraduates of Imo State University Owerri.Methodology: It was a descriptive cross sectional study. Data was obtained using semi-structured, self-administered questionnaires. Results were analyzed and presented using tables, bar charts and pie charts.Results: Only 38.9% of the respondents consulted qualified doctor when ill, the rest (61.1%) practised self-medication or by using drugs recommended by friends, family members or a paramedical worker. Reasons  given for self-medication include cheaper costs (52%), avoidance of delay at the hospital (51.6%), past experience of the efficacy of the drugs (51.9%).Conclusion: Factors that influence self-medication should be addressed by appropriate stakeholders for it to be curbed.Keywords: Analgesics, Antacids, Anti-malarials, Headaches, Medical Scienc

Antenatal Care Services Utilization among Women of Reproductive Age in Urban and Rural Communities of South East Nigeria: A Comparative Study

Background: Antenatal care is an evidence based intervention that improves maternal and perinatal outcome. Assessment and re-assessment of its utilization by rural and urban women in Nigeria is necessary for planning healthcare programmes and interventions.Aim: This study aims to assess urban – rural differences in antenatal care services utilization among women in South-East Nigeria and factors that influence such.Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study carried out among women of reproductive age in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria. Participants were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaires which were interviewer-administered. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 17. Tests of significance were done using Chi square test and student T test at 95% confidence intervals.Results: Six hundred women were included in the study; 300 respectively, from urban and rural settings. The mean age of respondents was 33.9+2.7 years. The average month at booking was higher in the rural areas (5.2 months) when compared to the urban (4.4) months, with more respondents in the urban areas booking earlier (P=0.000). More respondents in the urban, 140 (50.8%), attended ANC up to 4 times when compared to their rural counterparts, 102(37.0%) (p= 0.000). Women in the urban areas were more likely to have deliveries supervised by skilled birth attendants (p= 0.000). The estimated cost of antenatal care was higher in the urban areas than the rural (p= 0.000). Satisfaction received from antenatal and delivery services was also higher in the urban settings (p= 0.000).Conclusion: Rural-urban differences exist in the utilization of antenatal care services, with a higher proportion of urban women utilizing these services.Increased health education of women, especially in the rural areas, is advocated.Key Words: Antenatal utilization, Rural, Urban, Women, Nigeria

Towards a novel haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier : Euro-PEG-Hb, physico-chemical properties, vasoactivity and renal filtration

Blood transfusion is still a critical therapy in many diseases, traumatic events and war battlefields. However, blood cross-matching and storage may limit its applicability, especially in Third World countries. Moreover, haemoglobin, which in red blood cells is the key player in the oxygen transport from lung to tissues, when free in the plasma causes hypertension and renal failure. This investigation was aimed at the development of a novel haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier with low vasoactivity and renal filtration properties. Human haemoglobin was chemically conjugated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions, following different chemical procedures. The resulting PEGylated haemoglobin products were characterized in terms of oxygen affinity, cooperativity, effects of protons and carbon dioxide concentration, and oxidation stability, and were transfused into rats to evaluate vasoactivity and renal filtration. A deoxyhaemoglobin, conjugated with seven PEG and seven propionyl groups, which we called Euro-PEG-Hb, did not produce profound hypertension, was 99% retained within 6 h, and exhibited oxygen binding properties and allosteric effects more similar to human haemoglobin A than the other tested PEGylated haemoglobin derivatives, thus appearing a very promising candidate as blood substitute

Volume and market share of anti-epileptic drugs in The Netherlands: impact of new drugs.

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE: In the past decade, several new anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) were introduced in The Netherlands. These new drugs, one of which is lamotrigine, are 6 to 10 times more expensive than conventional anti-convulsants. In 1997, the high cost of lamotrigine, together with a lack of clinical data supporting its superiority over conventional drugs, prompted the Dutch Health Insurance Board to release a guideline in which the use of lamotrigine was restricted to difficult-to-treat patients. Other new drugs that were marketed after 1997 also became subject to this guideline. The utilisation of new AEDs and the cost consequences are the subject of this paper. METHODS: Data from extramurally prescribed AEDs was obtained from the Dutch Drug Information Project, which is a database containing prescriptions for about 5.5 million inhabitants of the Netherlands. This data was used to study the impact of new AEDs on volume and market share of AEDs in the period from 1995 to 2001 in The Netherlands. RESULTS: Between 1995 and 2001, the total volume of AEDs increased by 130%, 60% of which consisted of new AEDs. Gabapentin, lamotrigine and oxcarbazepine were the most frequently prescribed new compounds. The volume share of new AEDs increased from 5% in 1995 to 18% in 2001. The market share amounted to 21.5 million euros in 1995 and rose to 47 million euros in 2001; 80% of this increase was due to the introduction of new AEDs. DISCUSSION: Although in 2001 the volume share of new AEDs was still modest, their introduction has led to a strong increase in the cost. New data is emerging on the effectiveness and cost-benefit sum of the new AEDs; this may change the place in therapy of these drugs. Because of their strong potential to force up cost, the positioning of new AEDs requires further attention