Pharmacy practice
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To identify barriers to completing and publishing pharmacy residency research projects from the perspective of program directors and former residents. ⋯ Overall, while both groups found value in the residency research projects, there were barriers identified by both groups. The results of this study may provide areas of opportunity for improving the quality and publication rates of resident research projects.
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Sepsis is a significant public health concern. The clinical response to statins is variable among sepsis patients. ⋯ At usual doses for dyslipidemia, statin treatment decreased incidence of mortality related to sepsis and improved the survival in this Lebanese septic population. Large randomized controlled clinical trials must be realized to give conclusive results about the potential beneficial effect of statins in sepsis.
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Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a frequent uropathogen in urinary tract infections (UTI). Widespread resistance to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMX-TMP) and increasing resistance to fluoroquinolones amongst these isolates has been recognized. There are limited data demonstrating risk factors for resistance to both SMX-TMP and fluoroquinolones. ⋯ These results suggest that conventional approaches to monitoring for patterns of susceptibility may be inadequate. It is imperative that practitioners develop novel approaches to identifying patients with risk factors for resistance. Identification of risk factors from this evaluation should prompt providers to scrutinize the use of these agents in the setting of patients presenting with an uncomplicated UTI in the ED.
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Although community pharmacists have become more involved in the care of asthma patients, several studies have assessed pharmacists''ability to illustrate appropriately inhalation technique of different asthma devices. Many studies addressed inappropriate use of asthma devices by patients and pharmacists, in addition to its clinical, humanistic and economic burden. ⋯ The majority of community pharmacists, who were expected to educate asthma patients on their dispensed inhalers, lack the basic knowledge of proper use of commonly dispensed asthma inhaler devices.
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Pharmacists have an important role in detecting, preventing, and solving prescription problems, which if left unresolved, may pose a risk of harming the patient. ⋯ Despite the different patterns of prescription problems in three countries, the instrument was feasible and can be regarded appropriate to document and classify prescription problems necessitating contact with prescriber before dispensing, irrespective of the type of prescription or recording method.