Trends and Effects of Pharmaceutical DTCA

Purpose – The purpose of the review is to investigate the current trend of pharmaceutical Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) in the US and its effect on patients, physicians, and drug utilization. DTCA by pharmaceutical firms may be defined as an attempt by pharmaceutical companies to advertise products directly to patients. Design/methodology/approach – Methodology for this paper is a literature review approach. Findings – Pharmaceutical DTCA demonstrated a reduction in total spending, while the online channel media experienced growth. DTCA has influenced the physician-patient relationship and patient satisfaction. Patients who received medication associated with DTCA showed higher satisfaction. DTCA of second-line drugs increased first-line drug utilization. Benefits of pharmaceutical DTCA include enhancing appropriate drug utilization and increasing awareness. DTCA might cause harm by interfering with physician decisions regarding drug choice. Research limitations – Limitations include the availability of information on DTCA spending by pharmaceutical companies and the lack of quantitative data on the effect of pharmaceutical DTCA. Additionally, DTCA is sometimes affected by research bias. Practical implication – Improvement in the physician-patient relationship and patient satisfaction, as well as improvement in the quality of care provided may be demonstrated. Social implication – Pharmaceutical firms utilizing DTCA marketing advertisement methodologies can increase awareness of under-diagnosed conditions, affect medication costs, and the utilization of appropriate drug utilization. Originality/Value – Literature review highlights current relationships between DTCA, patients, physicians, and drug utilization to explore the effects DTCA has on consumers

Physical and Chemical Analyses of Some Granitic Soils

Agronom

The trends in DTCA and effects of DTCA by pharmaceutical firms in the United States

The Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceutical firms has been defined as an attempt of pharmaceutical companies to advertise products directly to patients (comsumers). Pharmaceutical DTCA has been criticized due to its inappropriateness and some urged the need to strengthen regulations. The DTCA has an impact on the public from both a benefit and harm concern. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current trend of pharmaceutical DTCA in the US and its effect on patients, physicians, and drug utilization. The methodology used in the research is literature review and semi-structured interview. The pharmaceutical DTCA showed reduction in total spending with the television advertising as the biggest channel of DTCA. The small channel market of advertising was the online approach where three-digit growth of 109% was demonstrated. The DTCA affected the physician-patient relationship as well as patient satisfaction. Patients who received the medication associated with DTCA showed higher satisfaction by 43% compared to those receiving other medications. The under-diagnosed conditions, such as depression, could potentially benefit from pharmaceutical DTCA by increasing the awareness regarding those diseases. The advertising of Tegaserod, a medication for irritable bowel syndrome indicated the increasing awareness of the disease along with increasing numbers of Tegaserod prescriptions. The increase of drug utilization by pharmaceutical DTCA seemed to be beneficial in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy. The advertising of second line drugs resulted in an increase of the first line drug utilization by two times compared to the second line drug utilization. The benefit of pharmaceutical DTCA included enhancing appropriate drug utilization by increasing awareness due to diseases such as benign prostatic hypertrophy. The DTCA might cause potential harm by interfering with a physician’s decision regarding prescription drug choice. Additional studies should focus on the type and content of DTCA. The limitation of the study was lack of available data on pharmaceutical DTCA spending to the public

Effects of salinity level on the activity of chloride cell and mucus secreting cell in the gill of the female Shortfin molly, Poecilia mexicana Steindachner, 1863

Ovoviviparous poeciliid fishes have been relatively well studied in the unique reproductive strategy, but their osmoregulatory system largely remains unknown. In this study, we conducted a short-term (7 days) lab experiment to investigate the effect of different salinity levels from 0 (freshwater) to 50 ppt (mesosaline) on the number of chloride cells and mucus secreting cells of female Poecilia mexicana. Chloride cells were found at high density along the epithelial lamellae, whereas mucus secreting cells were also concentrated in the gill raker epithelium. More interestingly, the average density of chloride cells and the mucus secreting cell were significantly increased at high salinity levels (P < 0.05). While further validation by immunohistochemistry is warranted, integrative data from our study suggested that the potential function of the osmoregulatory mechanism/strategy was supported by chloride and mucus secreting cells of female P. mexicana gill

Effects of three oral analgesics on postoperative pain following root canal preparation: a controlled clinical trial

Aim  To compare the effects of single doses of three oral medications on postoperative pain following instrumentation of root canals in teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Methodology  In this double‐blind clinical trial, 100 patients who had anterior or premolar teeth with irreversible pulpitis without any signs and symptoms of acute or chronic apical periodontitis and moderate to severe pain were divided by balanced block random allocation into four groups of 25 each, a control group receiving a placebo medication, and three experimental groups receiving a single dose of either Tramadol (100 mg), Novafen (325 mg of paracetamol, 200 mg ibuprofen and 40 mg caffeine anhydrous) or Naproxen (500 mg) immediately after the first appointment where the pulp was removed, and the canals were fully prepared. The intensity of pain was scored based on 10‐point VAS before and after treatment for up to 24 h postoperatively. Data were submitted to repeated analysis of variance. Results  At the 6, 12 and 24 h postoperative intervals after drug administration, the intensity of pain was significantly lower in the experimental groups than in the placebo group ( P   0.05). Conclusion  A single oral dose of Naproxen, Novafen and Tramadol taken immediately after treatment reduced postoperative pain following pulpectomy and root canal preparation of teeth with irreversible pulpitis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89451/1/j.1365-2591.2011.01950.x.pd

The Effect of Sodium Hypochlorite and Chlorhexidine as Irrigant Solutions for Root Canal Disinfection: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials

Introduction This systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine for root canal disinfection during root canal therapy. Methods A literature search for clinical trials was made on the PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Knowledge, SCOPUS, and Science Direct databases and in the reference lists of the identified articles up to January 2015. Quality assessment of the selected studies was performed according to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement. Results One clinical trial and 4 randomized clinical trials were selected from the 172 articles initially identified. There was heterogeneity in the laboratory methods used to assess the root canal disinfection as well as in the concentrations of the irrigants used. Therefore, meta-analysis was not performed. Two studies reported effective and similar reductions in bacterial levels for both irrigants. Sodium hypochlorite was more effective than chlorhexidine in reducing microorganisms in 1 study, and another reported opposite findings. Both root irrigants were ineffective in eliminating endotoxins from necrotic pulp root canals in 1 study. Trial design and information regarding randomization procedures were not clearly described in the clinical trials. No study compared laboratory results with clinical outcomes. Conclusions The available evidence on this topic is scarce, and the findings of studies were not consistent. Additional randomized clinical trials using clinical outcomes to compare the use of sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine during root canal therapy are needed

PRISMA for abstracts: best practice for reporting abstracts of systematic reviews in Endodontology

An abstract is a brief overview of a scientific, clinical or review manuscript as well as a stand‐alone summary of a conference abstract. Scientists, clinician–scientists and clinicians rely on the summary information provided in the abstracts of systematic reviews to assist in subsequent clinical decision‐making. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) for Abstracts checklist was developed to improve the quality, accuracy and completeness of abstracts associated with systematic reviews and meta‐analyses. The PRISMA for Abstracts checklist provides a framework for authors to follow, which helps them provide in the abstract the key information from the systematic review that is required by stakeholders. The PRISMA for Abstracts checklist contains 12 items (title, objectives, eligibility criteria, information sources, risk of bias, included studies, synthesis of results, description of the effect, strength and limitations, interpretation, funding and systematic review registration) under six sections (title, background, methods, results, discussion, other). The current article highlights the relevance and importance of the items in the PRISMA for Abstracts checklist to the specialty of Endodontology, while offering explanations and specific examples to assist authors when writing abstracts for systematic reviews when reported in manuscripts or submitted to conferences. Strict adherence to the PRISMA for Abstracts checklist by authors, reviewers and journal editors will result in the consistent publication of high‐quality abstracts within Endodontology

The taper of cast post preparation measured using innovative image processing technique

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>No documentation in the literature about taper of cast posts. This study was conducted to measure the degree of cast posts taper, and to evaluate its suitability based on the anatomy aspects of the common candidate teeth for post reconstruction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Working casts for cast posts, prepared using Gates Glidden drills, were collected. Impressions of post spaces were made using polyvinyl siloxan putty/wash technique. Digital camera with a 10' high quality lens was used for capturing two digital images for each impression; one in the Facio-Lingual (FL) and the other in the Mesio-Distal (MD) directions. Automated image processing program was developed to measure the degree of canal taper. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software and One way Analysis of Variance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty four dies for cast posts were collected: 16 for each maxillary anterior teeth subgroup, and 18 for each maxillary and mandibular premolar subgroup. Mean of total taper for all preparations was 10.7 degree. There were no statistical differences among the total taper of all groups (P = .256) or between the MD and FL taper for each subgroup. Mean FL taper for the maxillary first premolars was lower significantly (P = .003) than the maxillary FL taper of the second premolars. FL taper was higher than the MD taper in all teeth except the maxillary first premolars.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taper produced did not reflect the differences among the anatomy of teeth. While this technique deemed satisfactory in the maxillary anterior teeth, the same could not be said for the maxillary first premolars. Careful attention to the root anatomy is mandatory.</p