THE ASSOCIATION OF VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY AND GLUCOSE CONTROL AMONG DIABETIC PATIENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

Objective. To evaluate the association between the level of vitamin D and glycemic control among patients with diabetes Background. The complications of the diabetes are very serious health problems that should be prevented. Vitamin D level could be one factor that contributes to diabetes control. Methods. We analyzed data collected from NHANES 2003- 2006. We included only non-pregnant adult diabetic persons 18 years or older. We used student’s t test to compare the difference in HbA1c means between diabetic patients with and without a vitamin D deficiency. We used a multivariate logistic regression model to predict the relationship between glucose control (HbA1c \u3c7% [53 mmol/mol]) and vitamin D deficiency (serum level \u3c 20 ng/ml). We used race/ethnicity, BMI, age, gender, type of diabetic medication used, having health insurance or not, and comorbid conditions (hypertension, anemia, cholesterol, liver disease, and kidney disease) as control variables. Results. The study population included a total of 929 non-institutionalized, non-pregnant, diabetic adult persons. About 57% of patients with diabetes had a vitamin D deficiency. Blacks (non-Hispanic patients) with diabetes had the highest rate of vitamin D deficiency (79%). The unadjusted means of HbA1c were significantly different between diabetic patients with no vitamin D deficiency and those with a vitamin D deficiency (7.06% [54 mmol/mol], 7.56 % [59 mmol/mol], respectively, P\u3c0.0001). Multivariate adjustment showed a small but not significant, increase in odds (11%) of having uncontrolled diabetes in patients with a vitamin D deficiency after adjustment for other factors Conclusion. Vitamin D deficiency is very common in patients with diabetes. We found no significant association between vitamin D level and glycemic control in patients with diabetes after adjustment for control variables. Grants. The study was not funded

Prescribing errors and associated factors in discharge prescriptions in the emergency department: A prospective cross-sectional study.

ObjectivesEvidence regarding the prevalence of medication prescribing errors (PEs) and potential factors that increase PEs among patients treated in the emergency department (ED) are limited. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and nature of PEs in discharge prescriptions in the ED and identify potential risk factors associated with PEs.MethodsThis was a prospective observational cross-sectional study in an ambulatory ED in a tertiary teaching hospital. Data were collected for six months using a customized reporting tool. All patients discharged from ED with a discharged prescription within the study period were enrolled in this study.ResultsAbout 13.5% (n = 68) of the 504 prescriptions reviewed (for 504 patients) had at least one error. Main PEs encountered were wrong dose (23.2%), wrong frequency (20.7%), and wrong strength errors (14.6%). About 36.8% of identified PEs were related to pediatric prescriptions, followed by the acute care emergency unit (26.5%) and the triage emergency unit (20.6%). The main leading human-related causes associated with PEs were lack of knowledge (40.9%) followed by an improper selection from a computer operator list (31.8%). The leading contributing systems related factors were pre-printed medication orders (50%), lack of training (31.5%), noise level (13.0%), and frequent interruption of prescriber and distraction (11.1%). Prescribers' involved with the identified errors were resident physicians (39.4%), specialists (30.3%), and (24.4%) were made by general practitioners. Physicians rejected around 12% of the pharmacist-raised recommendations related to the identified PEs as per their clinical judgment.ConclusionPEs in ED setting are common, and multiple human and systems-related factors may contribute to the development of PEs. Further training to residents and proper communication between the healthcare professionals may reduce the risk of PEs in ED

Oral antidiabetic medication adherence and glycaemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional retrospective study in a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia

Objectives The purpose of this study is to measure the adherence rates of oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and assess the relationship of glycaemic control and adherence to OADs after controlling for other associated factors. Design Cross-sectional retrospective study. Setting Large tertiary hospital in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Participants 5457patients aged 18 years and older diagnosed with T2DM during the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016. Primary and secondary outcome measures The modified medication possession ratio (mMPR) was calculated as a proxy measure for adherence of OADs. The factors associated with OADs non-adherence and medication oversupply were assessed using multinomial logistic regression models. The secondary outcomes were to measure the association between OADs adherence and glycaemic control. Results Majority of patients with T2DM were females (n=3400, 62.3%). The average glycated haemoglobin was 8.2±1.67. Among the study population, 48.6% had good adherence (mMPR \u3e0.8) and 8.6% had a medication oversupply (mMPR \u3e1.2). Good adherence was highest among those using repaglinide (71.0%) followed by pioglitazone (65.0%) and sitagliptin (59.0%). In the multivariate analysis, women with T2DM were more likely to have poor adherence (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.76, 95% CI=0.67, 0.86) compared with men. Also, medication oversupply was more likely among patients with hyperpolypharmacy (AOR=1.88, 95% CI=1.36, 2.63), comorbid osteoarthritis (AOR=1.72, 95% CI=1.20, 02.45) and non-Saudi patients (AOR=1.53, 95% CI=1.16, 2.01). However, no association was found between glycaemic control and adherence to OADs. Conclusion The study findings support the growing concern of non-adherence to OADs among patients with T2DM in Saudi Arabia. Decision makers have to invest in behavioural interventions that will boost medication adherence rates. This is particularly important in patients with polypharmacy and high burden of comorbid conditions

Factors associated with glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia

Objective: To identify factors associated with glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in tertiary academic hospital. Research design and methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Data were extracted from the electronic health record (EHR) database for the period from 1st of January to 31st of December 2016. Participants were considered to have a glucose control if the HbA1c level was less than 7% [53 mmol/L]. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression model were performed to assess the factors associated with glycemic control. Results: A total of 728 patients were included in the study for which (65%) were female, and about 60% of the sample size was between 45 and 60 years old. Multivariate logistic regression model showed participants older than the age of 65 were less likely to have controlled diabetes compared to the younger participants (OR: 0.53 [CI: 0.30–0.93]). Moreover, those who had hypertension (OR: 0.61 [CI: 0.43–0.86]) and dyslipidemia (OR: 0.53 [CI: 0.38–0.74]) were less likely to have controlled diabetes, while those with asthma (OR: 2.06 [CI: 1.16–3.68]) were more likely to have controlled diabetes. The model also showed that vitamin D deficiency was not associated with glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients (OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.58–1.12]). Conclusion: These findings highlighted the need for appropriate management in older adult patients to prevent the complication of type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, attention should be exercised for patients with factors associated with poor glycemic control such as hypertension and dyslipidemia. Keywords: Saudi Arabia, Type 2 diabetes, Factor

Measuring the quality and completeness of medication-related information derived from hospital electronic health records database

Objective: Electronic Health Records (EHRs) database is a great source for pharmacoepidemiological research as thousands of patients’ clinical and medication information is stored in the database. However, the use of EHRs database for research purposes depends greatly on the accuracy and completeness of the data being used. This study mainly aimed to assess the completeness of EHRs patients’ medication-related information. Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study using data extracted from the EHRs database was conducted. Setting: The EHRs data was obtained from a single tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. Main outcome measure(s): The completeness of data was measured considering if a patients’ record contains all desired types of data (i.e., patients’ demographics, clinical diagnosis, and medication-related information). Results: A total of 23,411 unique individuals were identified after extracting the data from the EHRs. The study found that 89.9% of the patients had a complete data (i.e., age, gender, marital status, nationality, encounter type, and clinical diagnosis). Further, 83.1% of the patients had complete medication-related information. Subgroup analysis by the encounter type indicated that the data was 91.0% complete for outpatient encounter and 93.2% complete for inpatient encounter. Conclusion: The study findings indicate that the completeness of the data varies by the desired types of data. EHRs can be a potentially great resource to conduct research to assess medication use. Further studies focusing on the content and completeness of EHRs for a specific patient population and evaluate other dimensions of EHRs data quality are needed. Keywords: Electronic Health Records, Medication, Completeness, Secondary dat

The association of vitamin D deficiency and glucose control among diabetic patients

Objective: To evaluate the association between the level of vitamin D and glycemic control among patients with diabetes. Research design and method: We analyzed data collected from NHANES 2003–2006. We included only non-pregnant adult diabetic persons 18 years or older. Participants who had vitamin D level less than 20 ng/ml were considered as having vitamin D deficiency. Participants were considered to have a glucose control if the HbA1c level was less than 7% [53 mmol/L]. We used student’s t test to compare the difference in HbA1c means between people with Diabetes with and without a vitamin D deficiency. We used a multivariate logistic regression model to predict the relationship between glucose control and vitamin D deficiency. We used race/ethnicity, BMI, age, gender, type of diabetic medication used, having health insurance or not, and comorbid conditions (hypertension, anemia, cholesterol, liver disease, and kidney disease) as control variables. Results: The study population included a total of 929 non-institutionalized, non-pregnant, diabetic adult persons. About 57% of patients with diabetes had a vitamin D deficiency. Blacks (non-Hispanic patients) with diabetes had the highest rate of vitamin D deficiency (79%). The unadjusted means of HbA1c were significantly different between diabetic patients with no vitamin D deficiency and those with a vitamin D deficiency (7.06% [54 mmol/L], 7.56 % [59 mmol/L], respectively, P < 0.0001). Multivariate adjustment showed a small but not significant, increase in odds (11%) of having uncontrolled diabetes in patients with a vitamin D deficiency after adjustment for other factors. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is very common in patients with diabetes. We found no significant association between vitamin D level and glycemic control in patients with diabetes after adjustment for control variables. Keywords: Vitamin D deficiency, Diabetes, Glucose control, HbA1

Advancing pharmaceuticals and patient safety in Saudi Arabia: A 2030 vision initiative

Low-quality medicines deliver sub-optimal clinical outcomes and waste precious health resources. It is important to ensure that public funds are spent on healthcare technologies that meet national regulatory bodies such as the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), quality standards for safety, efficacy, and quality. Medicines quality is a complicated combination of pre-market regulatory specifications, appropriate sourcing of ingredients (active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), excipients, etc.), manufacturing processes, healthcare ecosystem communications, and regular and robust pharmacovigilance practices. A recent conference in Riyadh, sponsored by King Saud University, sought to discuss these issues and develop specific policy recommendations for the Saudi 2030 Vision plan. This and other efforts will require more and more creative educational programs for physicians, pharmacists, hospitals, and patients, and, most importantly evolving regulations on quality standards and oversight by Saudi health authorities

The Utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Saudi Older Adults: A Population-Based Study

Background. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is an integral part of patients' therapeutic experience worldwide. Among Saudi older adults, less is known about CAM utilization. Objectives. To determine the prevalence, patterns, and factors associated with CAM utilization among SOA. Methods. In the Saudi National Survey for Elderly Health (SNSEH), subjects were asked about CAM use during the last twelve months before the interview. CAM use was defined as any use of herbal products, acupuncture, bloodletting, cauterization, medical massage, bones manual manipulation, honey, or religious rituals. Demographic characteristics included gender, age, marital status, region, educational level, and residence area. In addition, multiple comorbidities were included as possible factors that may be associated with CAM use. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with CAM utilization. All statistical analyses were done using STATA v.14. Results. Out of 2946 respondents, 50.4% were males, the mean age was 70.3 ± 8.3 years, and 70% were illiterate. CAM use was prevalent (62.5%). The most common CAM types were herbal products (25.4%), acupuncture (21.2%), bloodletting (12%), honey (9.5%), cauterization (7.4%), medical massage and bones manual manipulation (4%), and traditional bone setting (2.1%). In the multivariable regression, age, gender, and marital status did not have an impact on the odds of using CAM. Subjects from rural areas were 2.92 times more likely to use CAM compared with subjects in urban areas (OR = 2.92; 95%CI: 2.28‐3.75). Subjects with metabolic disorders (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.42‐0.60) or kidney disease were less likely to use CAM (OR = 0.30; 95%CI: 0.14‐0.64). About pain, CAM is used more in neck pain (OR = 1.69; 95%CI: 1.30‐2.21) and also used in back pain (OR =  1.22; 95%CI: 1.03‐1.46). Conclusions. CAM use was very prevalent among SOA. Clinicians and pharmacists must ask about CAM use among older adults as many of CAM may interact with patients medications