Prescriptions

The aim of this study was to investigate the completeness and legibility of prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies located at Sana'a, Yemen. A cross-sectional study was conducted at 23 randomly selected community pharmacies throughout the capital city of Sana'a, Yemen from May 2015 to January 2016. A total of 2178 prescriptions were analyzed for the essential elements of a complete prescription using a validated checklist. Of the 2178 prescriptions, 19 (0.87%) were considered as of good quality prescription. The remaining 2159 (99.12%) prescriptions were considered as being of very poor quality. Errors related to patients and prescribed medications were the most common prescription writing errors. In this study, the quality of prescription writing was found to be very poor. Hence, continuous professional development programs are recommended to improve the quality of prescription writing among physicians. Future studies in other cities and investigation of the impact...

American singer Michael Jackson died on 25 June 2009 from cardiac arrest due to overdose of acute propofol and benzodiazepine. Nevertheless, it is said to be caused by his medical personnel, Conrad Murray that has prescript overused medical intake for Michael.

The purpose of this study was to examine functional capacity of cardio-respiratory system in patients with schizophrenia, and to evaluate the effects of 12 weeks prescribed physical activity on aerobic capacity and symptoms of schizophrenia. Study involved 80 hospitalized patients with any of the subtypes of schizophrenia (42 men, 38 women). They were divided into two groups: exercise and control group, both with 40 patients. Maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max) as an indicator of cardiovascular fitness has been obtained by cardiopulmonary stress test on a treadmill. Twelve weeks program of prescribed physical activity (45 minutes, four times per week) was made for every patient individually. Patients in exercise group practiced in training zone between 65 and 75% of their maximum heart rate (HR). Target HR was controlled by Polar F4 monitors. Symptoms of schizophrenia were measured by using Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). Before the exercise program was introduced, meas...

The purpose of this study was to examine functional capacity of cardio-respiratory system in patients with schizophrenia, and to evaluate the effects of 12 weeks prescribed physical activity on aerobic capacity and symptoms of schizophrenia. Study involved 80 hospitalized patients with any of the subtypes of schizophrenia (42 men, 38 women). They were divided into two groups: exercise and control group, both with 40 patients. Maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max) as an indicator of cardiovascular fitness has been obtained by cardiopulmonary stress test on a treadmill. Twelve weeks program of prescribed physical activity (45 minutes, four times per week) was made for every patient individually. Patients in exercise group practiced in training zone between 65 and 75% of their maximum heart rate (HR). Target HR was controlled by Polar F4 monitors. Symptoms of schizophrenia were measured by using Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). Before the exercise program was introduced, meas...

Lifting restrictions postoperatively are quite common but there appears to be little scientific basis for them. Lifting restricitions are inhibitory in terms of return to work and may be a factor in chronicity. The mean changes in functional spinal motion unit (FSU) stiffness with in vitro or computer-simulated discectomies, facetectomies and laminectomies were reviewed from the literature. We modified the

Research was conducted on reproductive tract infections among women obtaining induced abortions at Ph[image omitted]-[image omitted] hospital in Haiphong City, a major maternity hospital in northern Vietnam. The research aimed to explore how clinicians and lab-technicians diagnose reproductive tract infections and the difficulties they experience in establishing exact diagnoses. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies was employed. The quantitative research involved 748 abortion-seeking women; the qualitative research was conducted with 10 doctors and 10 lab-technicians providing reproductive health services. A marked tendency was observed among both clinicians and lab-technicians to overdiagnose reproductive tract infections and to prescribe antibiotics routinely. Social, cultural, and clinical factors associated with the tendency to overdiagnose reproductive tract infections included: inadequate training of health staff, lack of equipment, and cultural assumptions regarding the overwhelming prevalence of reproductive tract infections in Vietnamese women, especially among those who receive abortion services. Misconceptions of reproductive tract infections led to substantial over-diagnosis and unnecessary treatment of reproductive tract infections in this hospital. To enhance reproductive tract infection care, providers need to be sensitized to the social and medical consequences of their own cultural perceptions and to increase their awareness of the risks associated with overuse of antibiotics.

Background: Interactive visualization is an important approach to help to understand and to explain large amounts of data, particularly in light of decision support. Although data visualization have been introduced in healthcare and clinical fields, analytics has often been performed by data experts, focused on specific subjects, or insufficient statistical evidence. Therefore, this study suggests the procedures of effective and efficient visualization of big data for general healthcare researchers. Specifically, the procedure includes conventional regression analyses followed by interactive data visualization for prescription patterns of antihypertensive drugs. Methods: As a large-scale nationally representative prescription data, the Korean National Health Insurance claims data were collected. Conventional descriptive and regression analyses were conducted for therapy decision and prescription patterns using the software R. Then, based on the statistically significant findings, dashboards were developed to visualize interactively the patterns of prescriptions using the software Tableau. Results: Major characteristics (genders, age groups, healthcare institutions, and comorbidities) explained the differences in therapy and the average number of drugs prescribed as well as differences among most commonly prescribed drug classes. Two interactive dashboards were created for visualizing prescription patterns with incorporation of horizontal bar charts, packed bubble charts, treemaps, filled maps, radar charts, box and whisker plots, and filters. Conclusion: In the current big data era, interactive data visualization offers substantial opportunities to have comprehensive view, extract insights and evidence from the flood of vast amounts of data. This study's interactive visualizations can provide healthcare professionals insight into prescription patterns and demonstrate the value of creating interactive dashboards to support informed and timely decision-making. Exploring big data using interactive visualization is expected to deliver many future benefits in healthcare fields.

In order to facilitate scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malawi, innovative and pragmatic models have been developed to optimize the efficiency of HIV service delivery. In particular, three models of differentiated care have emerged for stable patients: adjusted appointment spacing through multi-month scripting (MMS); fast-track drug refills (FTRs) on alternating visits; and community ART groups (CAGs) where group members rotate in collecting medications at the facility for all members. This study aimed to assess the extent to which ART patients in Malawi are differentiated based on clinical stability and describe the characteristics and costs associated with the models of differentiated care offered. A mixed methods process evaluation was conducted from 30 purposefully selected ART facilities. Cross-sectional data for this evaluation was collected between February and May 2016. The following forms of data collection are reported here: structured surveys with 136 health ca...

There have been significant improvements in toric soft contact lens design over the past decade. Data from our international contact lens prescribing survey were mined to assess recent trends in toric soft contact lens fitting. This survey was conducted by sending up to 1000 survey forms to contact lens fitters in Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and

In order to facilitate scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malawi, innovative and pragmatic models have been developed to optimize the efficiency of HIV service delivery. In particular, three models of differentiated care have emerged for stable patients: adjusted appointment spacing through multi-month scripting (MMS); fast-track drug refills (FTRs) on alternating visits; and community ART groups (CAGs) where group members rotate in collecting medications at the facility for all members. This study aimed to assess the extent to which ART patients in Malawi are differentiated based on clinical stability and describe the characteristics and costs associated with the models of differentiated care offered. A mixed methods process evaluation was conducted from 30 purposefully selected ART facilities. Cross-sectional data for this evaluation was collected between February and May 2016. The following forms of data collection are reported here: structured surveys with 136 health ca...

The wide variety of hemiplegicsling designs, the lack of a uniform approach to sling selection, and the paucity of research data in this area have tended to make prescribing a sling a subjective process. Based on clinical experience and a comprehensive literature review, the authors propose a checklist for examining hemiplegic slings. The Checklist, which includes 19 desirable and 4 undesirable characteristics of slings, provides a more objective basis for comparing sling designs, warns of potential hazards, and facilitates the thorough examination of hemiplegic slings. The uses and limitations of the Checklist are discussed.

Certain exercise prescriptions for patients with cancer may improve self-reported quality of life (QoL) and self-reported physical function (PF). We investigated the effects of exercise on QoL and PF in patients with cancer and studied differences in effects between different intervention-related and exercise-related characteristics. We searched four electronic databases to identify randomised controlled trials investigating exercise effects on QoL and PF in patients with cancer. Pooled effects (Hedges' g) were calculated using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on intervention dimensions, including timing, duration and delivery mode, and exercise dimensions, including frequency, intensity, type and time (FITT factors). We included 74 exercise arms. Patients who were randomised to exercise interventions had significantly improved QoL (g=0.15, 95% CI (0.10 to 0.20), n=67 exercise arms) and PF (g=0.21, 95% CI (0.15 to 0.27), n=59 exercise ...

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine antimicrobial use and to analyze the correlation to resistant bacteria. Records on antimicrobial prescriptions in Suwa area, Nagano prefecture, were collected from December 2009 to May 2010 from a national health insurance database system. Records on antimicrobial-resistant bacteria during the same period were collected from area hospitals. Data was then compared to data published in Europe. The target population was 31,505, or 27.1% of the total area population. More antimicrobials were prescribed in an outpatient setting rather for inpatients. Total outpatient antimicrobial use was 9.34 defined daily dose (DDD) per 1,000 subject days. Macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramins (MLS) was the most prescribed drug group, followed by beta-lactams other than penicillin and quinolone. The quinolone-resistance rate among Escherichia coli in this area was within a predictable range based on European data, although that of macrolide-resi...

For many people assistive products are important to perform daily activities and to participate in society. In the process of selecting the proper assistive product for a person, it is important to describe in a uniform and transparent way his/her present functioning and wishes with respect to functioning. To indicate how the ICF (the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) can be used during the supply process, we have taken as a framework a general guideline describing this process. The guideline distinguishes seven steps in the supply process and for each step an inventory is made of the actions of the client, the actions of the care professional, the instruments used, the decisions made, the data generated, relevant classifications (including the ICF) to code these data, and the results for the client. It is the aim of this discussion paper to describe the role of the ICF in the prescription and supply of assistive products and to discuss the specific...

Background: Understanding the organisational setup of physiotherapy services across different countries is increasingly important as clinicians around the world use evidence to improve their practice. This also has to be taken into consideration when multi-centre international clinical trials are conducted. This survey aimed to systematically describe organisational aspects of physiotherapy services for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) across Europe. Methods: Representatives from 72 rehabilitation facilities within 23 European countries completed an online web-based questionnaire survey between 2013 and 2014. Countries were categorised according to four European regions (defined by United Nations Statistics). Similarities and differences between regions were examined. Results: Most participating centres specialized in rehabilitation (82 %) and neurology (60 %), with only 38 % specialising in MS. Of these, the Western based Specialist MS centres were predominately based on outpati...

Research was conducted on reproductive tract infections among women obtaining induced abortions at Phụ-Sản hospital in Haiphong City, a major maternity hospital in northern Vietnam. The research aimed to explore how clinicians and lab-technicians diagnose reproductive tract infections and the difficulties they experience in establishing exact diagnoses. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies was employed. The quantitative

This study analyzes and compares exposures to prescription opioids among children and adolescents younger than 20 years old in the United States. Data from the National Poison Data System for 2000 through 2015 were analyzed. Poison control centers received reports of 188 468 prescription opioid exposures among children aged <20 years old from 2000 through 2015. The annual number and rate of exposures increased early in the study period, but declined after 2009, except for buprenorphine exposures, which increased during the last 3 study years. Hydrocodone accounted for the largest proportion of exposures (28.7%), and 47.1% of children exposed to buprenorphine were admitted to a health care facility (HCF). The odds of being admitted to an HCF were higher for teenagers than for children aged 0 to 5 years (odds ratio [OR]: 2.86; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.78-2.94) or children aged 6 to 12 years (OR: 6.62; 95% CI: 6.06-7.02). Teenagers also had greater odds of serious medical out...

Larger weight gain and higher ultrafiltration rates have been associated with poorer outcomes among patients on dialysis. Dietary restrictions reduce fluid-related risk; however, adherence is challenging. Alternative fluid mitigation strategies include treatment time extension, more frequent dialysis, adjunct peritoneal dialysis, and wearable ultrafiltration devices. No data regarding patient preferences for fluid management exist. A survey was designed, tested, and administered to assess patient-stated preferences regarding fluid mitigation. A written survey concerning fluid-related symptoms, patient and treatment characteristics, and fluid management preferences was developed. The cross-sectional survey was completed by 600 patients on hemodialysis at 18 geographically diverse ambulatory facilities. Comparisons of patient willingness to engage in volume mitigation strategies across fluid symptom burden, dietary restriction experience, and patient characteristics were performed. Fi...

In the process of guideline development for prosthetic prescription in the Netherlands the authors made a study of the daily clinical practice of lower limb prosthetics. Besides the evidence-based knowledge from literature the more implicit knowledge from clinical experts is of importance for guideline development. In order to obtain this information the authors performed both an observational study of clinical practice and an interview study with 11 clinical experts from the three key disciplines in this field. The latter study is presented here as a descriptive and qualitative study. The combination of the opinions on prescription criteria given in these semi-structured interviews appeared divided with regard to various options in the prescription of a lower limb prosthesis. However, the implicit knowledge is considered by the authors of importance for the consensus procedure on guideline development. Prosthetic prescription criteria seem to be based on local experience and partly...

Physical activity plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain, but chronic pain may implicate a poor rehabilitation outcome. The concept of physical activity on prescription (PAP) is a therapeutic option for various diseases, but there is a lack of knowledge about how patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain experience receiving the prescription. The objective of this study was to describe the experiences of and thoughts about receiving a prescription for physical activity of people with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Interviews analysed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Three primary healthcare centres in a mixed rural and suburban area in the vicinity of a large city in western Sweden. Fifteen individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Four categories were identified with the overarching theme "Physical activity in chronic pain requires extra support". There were several barriers for increasing...

The incremental shuttle walk test was initially developed to be carried out in a hallway (ISWT-H) but has been modified to be performed on a treadmill (ISWT-T). However, it is still unknown whether performance on ISWT-H and ISWT-T are similar in patients with bronchiectasis. In this study, we compared the performance, physiological responses, and perception of effort between the ISWT-T with a handrail and ISWT-H for subjects with bronchiectasis. We also sought to estimate and compare the prescription for training intensity with both tests. This was a cross-sectional study in which 24 subjects with bronchiectasis were evaluated on 2 different days (24 h apart). Distance walked (m) was compared between the ISWT-H and ISWT-T. A training session was held on a treadmill at 75% of the speed obtained from both tests. The walking distance, oxygen uptake (V̇O2 ), carbon dioxide production (V̇CO2 ), heart rate, and ventilation (V̇E) were measured. There was a difference in the walking distanc...

Notes This was the case that exempted the Old Order Amish from compulsory education statutes. These considerations undermine another objection to special-ized consent statutes. It might be argued that these statutes should be amended simply because of ...