International journal of clinical pharmacy
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Western societies' need for knowledge about how to meet the challenges in health care following increased immigration has emerged as studies have showed that non-Western immigrants tend to experience more obstacles to drug use and poorer communication with health professionals. ⋯ This focus group study shows that language and other cultural barriers, including differences in body language, non-Western gender roles, and all-covering garments, are of great concern for ethnic Norwegian community pharmacists in the encounter with non-Western immigrant patients. Although the pharmacists recognise their role as drug information providers for immigrant patients, large disparities were detected with respect to kind of and amount of information provided to these patients.
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Case Reports
Neuropsychiatric symptoms accompanying thrombocytopenia following pregabalin treatment for neuralgia: a case report.
A 28-year-old female patient developed an increased temperature and neuropsychiatric symptoms after receiving 75 mg pregabalin therapy for neuralgia. She presented initially with pyrexia and dizziness, followed by disorganized speech within an acute confusional state. Her body temperature returned to normal after taking 60 mg loxoprofen sodium several hours later. However, the neuropsychiatric symptoms did not improve until the next morning. Routine blood tests showed decreased platelet counts (from 131 × 109/L to 85 × 109/L). The following day, a further dose of 75 mg pregabalin was administered because of its effective amelioration of the patient's neuralgia. One hour later, the same symptoms appeared as had previously including increased body temperature of 39.2 °C accompanied by a lower platelet count (73 × 109/L). ⋯ Clinicians should be alert to the serious neuropsychiatric symptoms and thrombocytopenia associated with the use of pregabalin. Routine blood tests may be necessary upon initiation of pregabalin treatment.
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Medicinal leech therapy is effective in establishing venous outflow in congested flaps and replants. However, its use is also associated with infections, especially from Aeromonas species. To prevent this nosocomial infection, levofloxacin has been established as prophylaxis during leech therapy in our hospital. ⋯ This study demonstrates successful implementation of a guideline for levofloxacin prophylaxis during leech therapy. Following its introduction, no Aeromonas species related to the use of leeches were isolated as compared to 8.5 % in the baseline period.
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Review
Design and comprehensibility of over-the-counter product labels and leaflets: a narrative review.
Over-the-counter medicines must be supplied with appropriate, user-friendly medicine information to satisfactorily support consumer self-management and safe use. Product labels and written medicine information leaflets are highly accessible over-the-counter medicine information sources for consumers. Factors such as comprehensibility and design underpin the usefulness of over-the-counter labels and leaflets and should be further examined to better inform future optimisation strategies. Aim of the review To undertake an in-depth exploration of studies that have evaluated design and/or comprehensibility of over-the-counter labels and written medicine information leaflets Methods Database searches were performed using Medline, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and PubMed. Studies exploring over-the-counter medicine label and/or leaflet comprehensibility and/or design were identified. Additional author and reference list searches were performed to identify studies which met the inclusion criteria and key terms. ⋯ A wide spectrum of consumer understanding of over-the-counter medicine labels is evident in the literature, with limited studies examining over-the-counter written medicine information leaflet comprehensibility with consumers. The application of good information design principles in over-the-counter labels and leaflets contribute to improved performance. Well-designed consumer studies are needed to ascertain and optimise over-the-counter label and leaflet performance.
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The use of error-prone abbreviations has led to medication errors. Many safety organisations have introduced 'Do Not Use' lists (lists of error-prone abbreviations that should be avoided by prescribers), but the effectiveness of these lists have not been studied. ⋯ A 'Do Not Use' list is effective in reducing error-prone abbreviations. Reinforcements of the 'Do Not Use' list further improves prescriber adherence. However, many other unapproved abbreviations (not included in current 'Do Not Use' lists) are used when prescribing. Periodic reminders on error-prone abbreviations and education of prescribers on associated risks may help to reduce the use of error-prone abbreviations in hospitals.