Objective To compare between current evidence of novel glycopeptides against vancomycin for the t... more Objective To compare between current evidence of novel glycopeptides against vancomycin for the treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections. Methodology A systematic review and meta-analysis was done. Major databases were searched for eligible randomized control trials that assessed clinical success, microbiological success and safety profile of novel glycopeptides versus vancomycin for infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Results This meta-analysis included eleven trials (7289 participants) comparing telavancin, dalbavancin and oritavancin with vancomycin. No differences were detected between novel glycopeptides and vancomycin for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) among modified intent-to-treat patients (OR: 1.04, CI: 0.92–1.17) as well as within the clinically evaluable patients (OR: 1.09, CI: 0.91–1.30). Data analysed from SSTIs, HAP and bacteremia studies on telavancin showed insignificant high clinical response in microbiologically evaluable p...
Background: Capecitabine is frequently used alone or combined with other chemotherapy agents for ... more Background: Capecitabine is frequently used alone or combined with other chemotherapy agents for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in relapsed patients. Objective: The objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of capecitabine monotherapy versus combination in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer patients pretreated with anthracycline and taxane. Methods: Eligible randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy and safety of capecitabine alone compared to capecitabine combination were systematically searched. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), and grades 3–4 drug-related adverse events were the outcomes assessed. Results: A total of 6,714 patients of 9 trials were involved in the pooled analysis. Our findings demonstrated that capecitabine combination is significantly superior to capecitabine monotherapy in improving PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.32, 95% CI 1.13–1.54, p < 0.0001) and OR...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2019
Background: Pharmacy educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and su... more Background: Pharmacy educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and summative evaluation of trainees. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an approach for student assessment in which aspects of clinical competence are evaluated in a comprehensive, consistent, and structured manner. Though recently become popular in pharmacy schools globally, its use in North Cyprus and Turkey pharmacy schools appears limited. Objectives: To assess pharmacy students’ evaluation and overall perception of OSCE. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pharmacy students, who participated in the final OSCE examination in 2015-2016.The study sample consisted of fifth-year Pharmacy students who took the OSCE assessment during their studies. A24-item self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to obtain relevant data on OSCE evaluation in terms of content reliability and structure of the examination. Students’ responses were based on a 4-po...
Background This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a clinical pharmacy practice... more Background This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a clinical pharmacy practice (CPP) course in Northern Cyprus. The course covered a range of subjects, including internal medicine, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and drug information services. Methods An 8-week structured CPP course was designed for fifth-year students. Students’ competencies were assessed using an objective structural clinical examination (OSCE) before and after the intervention. The course addressed all CPP competence domains and learning outcomes, and it utilized a wide variety of learning activities. Student perceptions, experience and preceptor evaluations were assessed using surveys. Results Students reported that the learning objectives of the course were met. Substantial knowledge and skills in different areas of CPP were gained. A significant overall enhancement in the average grades on the OSCE was identified (23.09 ± 0.75 and 27.51 ± 0.71 out of 40). Students received the highe...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2019
Purpose: This study aims to provide a prevalence survey of antibiotic usage and HAIs and evaluate... more Purpose: This study aims to provide a prevalence survey of antibiotic usage and HAIs and evaluate the cost of antibiotic therapy. Methods: All inpatients on surgery, paediatrics, medicine, and ICU specialities were surveyed within a period of one week, April 2016 at Near East University hospital in Northern Cyprus. ACross-sectional study was performed and desired data on antibiotic use and HAIs were collected and analysed. Results: Out of 137 inpatients, 39.4% (n=54) were on one or two antibiotics. The usage of antibiotic was appropriate in 70% of the patients while it was inappropriate in the remaining 30%. The most common appropriate use was seen in empirical (80.6%) and prophylaxis (69.2%), while in definitive therapy cases (60.0%), the usage of antibiotics was irrationally inappropriate. Overall, 10.9% of hospitalized patients developed HAI. The most prevalent infection was UTI (urinary tract infections) (33.3%). Prevalence of HAIs was high in patients over 30 years old and in t...
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a high salt (HS) diet on age-related ... more Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a high salt (HS) diet on age-related changes in blood pressure (BP) and the possible role played by regulatory central mechanisms. Methods: Young (5 months) and old (27 months) male Fischer 344 × Brown Norway (F344/BN) rats were fed standard chow or 8% HS diet for 12 days. BP and heart rate (HR) were measured by telemetry. Results: Mean arterial BP (MAP) was significantly elevated in old rats during the day and night when compared with young animals. The HS diet further elevated MAP in both age groups, and the increase was more pronounced in the old animals, while HR was not altered by age or HS diet. In addition, cardiovascular responses to restraint stress were diminished in the old when compared with the young and were unchanged with HS diet in either age group. Both age and the HS diet elevated the adrenomedullary mRNA levels of tyrosine hydroxylase, an indicator for sympathoexcitation. HS diet enhanced intracerebrovent...
Objective To compare between current evidence of novel glycopeptides against vancomycin for the t... more Objective To compare between current evidence of novel glycopeptides against vancomycin for the treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections. Methodology A systematic review and meta-analysis was done. Major databases were searched for eligible randomized control trials that assessed clinical success, microbiological success and safety profile of novel glycopeptides versus vancomycin for infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Results This meta-analysis included eleven trials (7289 participants) comparing telavancin, dalbavancin and oritavancin with vancomycin. No differences were detected between novel glycopeptides and vancomycin for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) among modified intent-to-treat patients (OR: 1.04, CI: 0.92–1.17) as well as within the clinically evaluable patients (OR: 1.09, CI: 0.91–1.30). Data analysed from SSTIs, HAP and bacteremia studies on telavancin showed insignificant high clinical response in microbiologically evaluable p...
Background: Capecitabine is frequently used alone or combined with other chemotherapy agents for ... more Background: Capecitabine is frequently used alone or combined with other chemotherapy agents for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in relapsed patients. Objective: The objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of capecitabine monotherapy versus combination in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer patients pretreated with anthracycline and taxane. Methods: Eligible randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy and safety of capecitabine alone compared to capecitabine combination were systematically searched. Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), and grades 3–4 drug-related adverse events were the outcomes assessed. Results: A total of 6,714 patients of 9 trials were involved in the pooled analysis. Our findings demonstrated that capecitabine combination is significantly superior to capecitabine monotherapy in improving PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.32, 95% CI 1.13–1.54, p < 0.0001) and OR...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2019
Background: Pharmacy educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and su... more Background: Pharmacy educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and summative evaluation of trainees. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an approach for student assessment in which aspects of clinical competence are evaluated in a comprehensive, consistent, and structured manner. Though recently become popular in pharmacy schools globally, its use in North Cyprus and Turkey pharmacy schools appears limited. Objectives: To assess pharmacy students’ evaluation and overall perception of OSCE. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pharmacy students, who participated in the final OSCE examination in 2015-2016.The study sample consisted of fifth-year Pharmacy students who took the OSCE assessment during their studies. A24-item self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to obtain relevant data on OSCE evaluation in terms of content reliability and structure of the examination. Students’ responses were based on a 4-po...
Background This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a clinical pharmacy practice... more Background This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a clinical pharmacy practice (CPP) course in Northern Cyprus. The course covered a range of subjects, including internal medicine, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and drug information services. Methods An 8-week structured CPP course was designed for fifth-year students. Students’ competencies were assessed using an objective structural clinical examination (OSCE) before and after the intervention. The course addressed all CPP competence domains and learning outcomes, and it utilized a wide variety of learning activities. Student perceptions, experience and preceptor evaluations were assessed using surveys. Results Students reported that the learning objectives of the course were met. Substantial knowledge and skills in different areas of CPP were gained. A significant overall enhancement in the average grades on the OSCE was identified (23.09 ± 0.75 and 27.51 ± 0.71 out of 40). Students received the highe...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 2019
Purpose: This study aims to provide a prevalence survey of antibiotic usage and HAIs and evaluate... more Purpose: This study aims to provide a prevalence survey of antibiotic usage and HAIs and evaluate the cost of antibiotic therapy. Methods: All inpatients on surgery, paediatrics, medicine, and ICU specialities were surveyed within a period of one week, April 2016 at Near East University hospital in Northern Cyprus. ACross-sectional study was performed and desired data on antibiotic use and HAIs were collected and analysed. Results: Out of 137 inpatients, 39.4% (n=54) were on one or two antibiotics. The usage of antibiotic was appropriate in 70% of the patients while it was inappropriate in the remaining 30%. The most common appropriate use was seen in empirical (80.6%) and prophylaxis (69.2%), while in definitive therapy cases (60.0%), the usage of antibiotics was irrationally inappropriate. Overall, 10.9% of hospitalized patients developed HAI. The most prevalent infection was UTI (urinary tract infections) (33.3%). Prevalence of HAIs was high in patients over 30 years old and in t...
Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a high salt (HS) diet on age-related ... more Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a high salt (HS) diet on age-related changes in blood pressure (BP) and the possible role played by regulatory central mechanisms. Methods: Young (5 months) and old (27 months) male Fischer 344 × Brown Norway (F344/BN) rats were fed standard chow or 8% HS diet for 12 days. BP and heart rate (HR) were measured by telemetry. Results: Mean arterial BP (MAP) was significantly elevated in old rats during the day and night when compared with young animals. The HS diet further elevated MAP in both age groups, and the increase was more pronounced in the old animals, while HR was not altered by age or HS diet. In addition, cardiovascular responses to restraint stress were diminished in the old when compared with the young and were unchanged with HS diet in either age group. Both age and the HS diet elevated the adrenomedullary mRNA levels of tyrosine hydroxylase, an indicator for sympathoexcitation. HS diet enhanced intracerebrovent...
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