Prescription audit of outpatients in tertiary care government hospital

Background: Prescription audit is a tool as well as a technique by its application,all professionals will improve the quality of prescribing drugs. Standards of medical treatment can be assessed by prescription audit. It is based on documented evidences to support diagnosis, treatment and justified utilization of hospital facilities. Prescription audit is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care. In this background the present study was conducted. The objectives of the study were to know the frequently prescribed drugs in OPD, number of the drugs used per prescription and to find out the rationality.Methods: Study was conducted at Sri Chamarajendra Hospital, HIMS, Hassan in OPD of General Medicine.1000 prescriptions were collected and noted down the frequently used medication, number of drugs prescribed and their type of formulations for the particular diagnosis.Results: From the study it is noted that 1910 drugs out of 1000 prescriptions were prescribed which is approximately 1.91 drugs per prescription about 55% of the prescriptions contained single drug. Very few received 4-5 drugs (7%). Almost all the drugs in prescriptions were in Generic names. Around 95% of prescriptions doses were mentioned in mg, ml etc. The most commonly prescribed drugs in order are Antibiotics, antidiabetics antihypertensives, bronchodilators, steroids antiemetics and ORS were prescribed.Conclusions: Polypharmacy was not found in our prescriptions which indicates our prescriptions improved the patient conditions. This type of study will ensure to know the ‘P’ drug development and select the essential medicine list for various levels of health care

Factors associated with polypharmacy in geriatrics

Background: In population with advancing age, the prevalence of medical co-morbid conditions is high and they are prone for complications. Hence the apprehension of using multiple drugs is more. Using more than 5 drugs per day is referred to as Polyphrmacy. Sometimes treatment causes more harm than the disease proper. So, optimizing drug therapy in these aging population is a challenging task for physician. Polypharmacy can also lead to increase in drug interactions, adverse drug reactions and medication errors. Hence the present study was taken up to study drug utilization pattern and factors leading to polypharmacy in geriatrics. The objectives of the study were to study the number and type of drug use and to know the different factors leading to polypharmacy.Methods: Cross sectional study was carried out among 60 geriatric persons ≥60 years of age present in old age home in Hassan. The study was done after taking the consent. All the prescriptions and medications being used along with history were collected and documented. The total number of drugs being used and names of all drugs were noted down and analysed. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: Among 60 geriatrics 38% males and 62% females age ranges from 60- 87 years. Average number of drugs used per day per person is 5.03 (Males 6.2 and Females 3.8) in 58.03% of individuals. Most common group of drug used is Gastro intestinal system (78.3%) and most common drug being used is Tab. Ranitidine 140mg (50%). Next group is NSAIDs (68.33%) and most common drug being used is Tab. Diclofenac (46.7%). Antihypertensive drugs were prescribed in 53.3% of geriatrics, most commonly prescribed drug is Tab. Amlodipine (5mg). Self medication was found in 100%. Most common group of drugs used as self medication are GIT drugs, supplements and NSAIDs. In supplements (used in 63.3%), Cap. B Complex is widely used (50%).Conclusions: Polypharmacy was found in 58.3% of individuals and highest in age group between 71-75 years and self medication was found to be the most important factor leading to polypharmacy. To counteract the problems associated with Polypharmacy, interventional studies are needed to improve the quality of life of geriatrics patients

A questionnaire based study on the knowledge, attitude, practice of staff nurses about pharmacovigilance in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) - one of the global problems of major concern leading to morbidity and mortality. Spontaneous reporting of ADR is the cornerstone of Pharmacovigilance (PV) programme and it is important to reduce the risk of drug related harm to the patient. The active participation of healthcare professionals (Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacist) play a major role in the success of Pharmacovigilance. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice of Staff Nurses about Pharmacovigilance in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: A Cross sectional, Observational questionnaire based study was carried out using a pre designed KAP questionnaire. Study included 100 staff nurses who were working in Hassan institute of medical sciences (HIMS). The results were analyzed using descriptive statisticsResults: In our study 65% participants knows the correct definition and 48.8% knows the important purpose of Pharmacovigilance and 77.5% aware of existence of ADR reporting system in India. There was huge gap between ADR experienced (53.8%) and ADR reported (21.3%). The determinants of under reporting from our study include Lack of time / overburdened (33.7%) and lack of knowledge about ADR (31.25%).Conclusions: This study showed that majority of participants understand the need for reporting of ADR. In spite of that the reporting rate of ADRs by them is very low. Hence, there is a need to create awareness about the importance of reporting ADR by conducting many Pharmacovigilance programme

Strontium to calcium (Sr/Ca) ratio in otolith as a tool for stock discrimination of oilsardine and mackerel

Otoliths are found in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear of teleost fish and serve mainly in balancing the organism. They are composed of calcium carbonate and are deposited rhythmically as aragonite crystals within a protein matrix. They have long been used in fish aging studies. Recently, changes in the strontium (Sr): calcium (Ca) ratios in otoliths have received increasing attention, as these provide a method of reconstructing environmental history of the fish. Strontium is a calcium analogue sharing a similar crystal ionic radius and can substitute for Ca in the aragonite lattice of otoliths

Pigeonpea nutrition and its improvement

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millsp.), known by several vernacular and names such as red gram, tuar, Angola pea. yellow dhal and oil dhal, is one of the major grain legume crops of the tropics and sub-tropics. It is a crop of small holder dryland fmmers because it can grow well under subsistence level of agriculture and provides nutritive food, fodder, and fuel wood. It also improves soil by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. India by far is the largest pigeonpea producer it is consumed as decorticated split peas, popularly called as 'dhaL' In other countries, its consumption as whole dty and green vegetable is popular. Its foliage is used as fodder and milling by-products [onn an excellent feed for domestic animals. Pigeonpea seeds contain about 20-22% protein and appreciable amounts of essential amino.acids and minerals. DehuHing and boiling treatments of seeds get rid of the most antinutritional factors as tannins and enzyme inhibitors. Seed storage causes considerable losses in the quality of this legume. The seed protein of pigeonpea has been successfully enhanced by breeding from 20-22% to 28-30%. Such lines also agronomically performed well and have acceptable and color. The high-protein lines were found nutritionally superior to the cultivars because they would provide more quantities of utilizable protein and sulfur-containing amino acids

Predicting Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review

The ability to predict student performance in a course or program creates opportunities to improve educational outcomes. With effective performance prediction approaches, instructors can allocate resources and instruction more accurately. Research in this area seeks to identify features that can be used to make predictions, to identify algorithms that can improve predictions, and to quantify aspects of student performance. Moreover, research in predicting student performance seeks to determine interrelated features and to identify the underlying reasons why certain features work better than others. This working group report presents a systematic literature review of work in the area of predicting student performance. Our analysis shows a clearly increasing amount of research in this area, as well as an increasing variety of techniques used. At the same time, the review uncovered a number of issues with research quality that drives a need for the community to provide more detailed reporting of methods and results and to increase efforts to validate and replicate work.Peer reviewe

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Not AvailableOtoliths are found in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear of teleost fish and serve mainly in balancing the organism. They are composed of calcium carbonate and are deposited rhythmically as aragonite crystals within a protein matrix. They have long been used in fish aging studies. Recently, changes in the strontium (Sr): calcium (Ca) ratios in otoliths have received increasing attention, as these provide a method of reconstructing environmental history of the fish. Strontium is a calcium analogue sharing a similar crystal ionic radius and can substitute for Ca in the aragonite lattice of otoliths.Not Availabl