The International journal of risk & safety in medicine
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Pharmacists by their training have the competences and skills to promote safe use of medicines which is an essential component of patient safety. This study explored the perceptions of hospital pharmacists' role in medication safety in Ghana, identified their attendant challenges and ways of enhancing such roles in the future. ⋯ Pharmacists undertake many medication safety activities routinely that they perceive to have impact on patient care outcomes. Restructuring of their managerial roles will contribute to freeing time for pharmacists to engage more in those activities.
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The relevance of the problem of colorectal cancer (CRC) is evident because of extremely high morbidity and mortality rates, associated with this disease. CRC is mostly diagnosed only at very advanced stages. The reduction of mortality can be achieved by the popularization of screening-methods for early identification of CRC and adenomatous polyps of the colon, which are proved to be precancerous condition. Fecal occult blood test is a well-known method of screening for CRC. The advantages of this method when compared, for example, with colonoscopy are its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.Two techniques are usually used for detection of occult blood in the stool: Hemoccult (Guaiac) test and immunochemical test for hemoglobin. There is no consensus among researchers regarding the validity of these tests for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. For example, J.S. Mandel (1996) notes 60% sensitivity of Guaiac-test for the detection of the early forms of colorectal cancer, while O.I. Kit (2014) suggets that it is not higher than 30%. There are also various opinions about specificity of these two tests. ⋯ 1. The sensitivity of the Guaiac test for occult blood in stool is lower than its specificity.2. Broad dispersion of the validity characteristics of the fecal occult blood tests was observed.3. The validity of tests for occult blood was higher when they were used for detection of colorectal cancer than of colon polyposis.4. The highest validity rate has been demonstrated for the immunochemical test when it was used for colon cancer screening.
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Central Venous Catheterisation (CVC) has occasionally been associated with cases of retained guidewires in patients after surgery. In theory, this is a completely avoidable complication; however, as with any human procedure, operator error leading to guidewires being occasionally retained cannot be fully eliminated. ⋯ Further work to eliminate/engineer out the possibility of guidewires being retained is proposed.
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Review
A compromise too far: a review of Canadian cases of direct-to-consumer advertising regulation.
Since the mid 1990's, Canada has introduced partial direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs through administrative policy shifts. Little documentation exists on how regulation occurs in practice. ⋯ There is an astonishing degree of discordance between public health priorities and regulation of DTCA in Canada. The current approach to enforcement is notable both for its lack of teeth and lack of accountability and transparency.
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Acute pain service (APS) ensures provision of effective and safe postoperative pain relief. The following cases describe a potentially fatal error in managing patients who receive epidural analgesia postoperatively. ⋯ A defined APS protocol should ensure patients' safety. If the protocol is strictly adhered to and with regular audits, preventable errors can be avoided. The acute pain service provider must be alert and responsive to warning signs of any protocol errors.