Mapping private pharmacies and their characteristics in Ujjain district, Central India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In India, private pharmacies are ubiquitous yet critical establishments that facilitate community access to medicines. These are often the first points of treatment seeking in parts of India and other low income settings around the world. The characteristics of these pharmacies including their location, drug availability, human resources and infrastructure have not been studied before. Given the ubiquity and popularity of private pharmacies in India, such information would be useful to harness the potential of these pharmacies to deliver desirable public health outcomes, to facilitate regulation and to involve in initiatives pertaining to rational drug use. This study was a cross sectional survey that mapped private pharmacies in one district on a geographic information system and described relevant characteristics of these units.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study of pharmacies was a part of larger cross sectional survey carried out to map all the health care providers in Ujjain district (population 1.9 million), Central India, on a geographic information system. Their location vis-à-vis formal providers of health services were studied. Other characteristics like human resources, infrastructure, clients and availability of tracer drugs were also surveyed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total 475 private pharmacies were identified in the district. Three-quarter were in urban areas, where they were concentrated around physician practices. In rural areas, pharmacies were located along the main roads. A majority of pharmacies simultaneously retailed medicines from multiple systems of medicine. Tracer parenteral antibiotics and injectable steroids were available in 83.7% and 88.7% pharmacies respectively. The proportion of clients without prescription was 39.04%. Only 11.58% of staff had formal pharmacist qualifications. Power outages were a significant challenge.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first mapping of pharmacies & their characteristics in India. It provides evidence of the urban dominance and close relationship between healthcare provider location and pharmacy location. The implications of this relationship are discussed. The study reports a lack of qualified staff in the presence of a high proportion of clients attending without a prescription. The study highlights the need for the better implementation of regulation. Besides facilitating regulation & partnerships, the data also provides a sampling frame for future interventional studies on these pharmacies.</p

Effect of Acetylsalicylic Acid and AT1 Receptor Antagonism on Vascular Oxidative Stress in Hypertensive Rats

Abstract: This study investigated the effects of losartan (Los; AT1 receptor antagonist) and acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin; Asp) on dexamethasone (Dex)-induced hypertensive rats. Fifty adult male Wistar rats were used and divided into 5 equal groups; Control group (Co

Enhanced transdermal permeability of Terbinafine through novel nanoemulgel formulation; Development, in vitro and in vivo characterization

Terbinafine Hcl (TB) is a poorly water soluble antifungal drug. Topical nanoemulsion based gel containing TB was prepared with a view to improve its solubility and antifungal activity. In preparation of the nanoemulsion (NE), excipients were selected based on the solubility study. Peceol was optimized as the oil phase. Tween 80 and propanol were optimized as the surfactant and co-solvent respectively, and were mixed (Smix) in different weight ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 4:1, 3:1 and 2:1, respectively). Pseudoternary phase diagrams were developed and Pecol and Smix were mixed in different weight ratios ranging from 1:9 to 9:1. Based on the NE region of each diagram, the formulae were selected. The formulated nanoemulsions were characterized and evaluated for in vitro drug release and thermodynamic stability. The optimum nanoemulsion formulae containing 10 or 15% w/w oil, 45% w/w Smix (1:2/1:3) and 45-40% w/w aqueous phase) were incorporated into Carbopol 940 gel bases forming three different TB nanoemulsion based emulgel formulae (F1-F3) which were examined for ex vivo drug permeation and in vivo antifungal activity compared to the marketed product; Lamisil® emulgel. The results showed that TB skin permeation from all the prepared nanoemulsion based gel formulae was significantly (p < 0.05) improved in relation to the commercial emulgel. F3 exhibited a superior in vivo antifungal activity over the marketed emulgel for the treatment of Candida infection. Keywords: Terbinafine nanoemulsion, Pseudoternary phase diagrams, Permeation stud

Chitosan and sodium alginate—Based bioadhesive vaginal tablets

Metronidazole was formulated in mucoadhesive vaginal tablets by directly compressing the natural cationic polymer chitosan, loosely cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, together with sodium alginate with or ine cellulose (MCC). Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was added to some of the formulations. The drug content in tablets was 20%. Drug dissolution rate studies from tablets were carried out in buffer pH 4.8 and distilled water. Swelling indices and adhesion forces were also measured for all formulations. The formula (FIII) containing 6% chitosan, 24% sodium alginate, 30% sodium CMC, and 20% MCC showed adequate release properties in both media and gave lower values of swelling index compared with the other examined formulations. FIII also proved to have good adhesion properties with minimum applied weights. Moreover, its release properties (% dissolution efficiency, DE) in buffer pH 4.8, as well as release mechanism (n values), were negligibly affected by aging. Thus, this formula may be considered a good candidate for vaginal mucoadhesive dosage forms