Introduction: Although it is discouraged, community pharmacy customers can obtain oral corticosteroids (OCSs) without prescriptions from some community pharmacies in Iraq. Medication abuse is defined as the use of medication for non-medical reasons. Objectives: The study aimed to determine demographics, beliefs, and perceptions associated with the abuse of oral corticosteroids for non-illness reasons among community pharmacy customers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in fall 2018 in four provinces in Iraq. Customers of 19 community pharmacies asking for OCSs for themselves without a prescription were administered a paper survey. This study used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) to measure the relationship between the motivational factors and the abuse of OCSs. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationships between the use of OCSs for non-illness and six TRA factors: Normative belief, behavioral belief, evaluation of the behavior, motivation to comply, subjective norms and attitude toward behavior. Results: The study enrolled 141 participants (98 women and 43 men) taking asking for OCSs without prescription. Dexamethasone was the most commonly used OCSs (59.6%). Friends were the primary recommenders for corticosteroids abuse (28.4%). The main reasons for using OCSs were to increase appetite and gain weight (53.9 %). Approximately one-third (36.2 %) of the participants gained weight after using OCSs. The regression analysis of the TRA variables showed two factors were significantly related to the abuse of OCSs. Age had a significant inverse relationship with the abuse of OCSs and the "good appearance" belief had a significant positive association with OCS abuse. Conclusion: Some Iraqi community pharmacy customers use non-prescribed oral corticosteroids to increase appetite and gain weight. Improve body appearance represents the dominant incentive that urges people to use OCSs without prescription. Health officials and healthcare practitioners need to promote people's awareness about the risks of misusing OCSs through education programs and advertisements in public health settings, media, and social media. Article Type: Original Research
Loratadine is a long acting non-sedating anti-histaminic agent that was developed for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, whose anti-histaminic action is more effective than the other anti-histaminic drugs available commercially. This project was carried out to prepare an acceptable suspension through studying the release of drug in presence of different types and concentrations of suspending agents such as polysorbate 40, xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC), aluminum magnesium silicate (veegum) and sodium alginate. The effects of these suspending agents were studied at pH 1.2 (0.1N HCl) and 37 Ù’C. The results showed that the release rate of loratadine in the presence of these suspending agents was dependent o
... Show MoreBackground: The roles of AI in the academic community continue to grow, especially in the enhancement of learning outcomes and the improvement of writing quality and efficiency. Objectives: To explore in depth the experience of senior pharmacy students in using artificial intelligence for academic purposes. Methods: This qualitative study included face-to-face individual interviews with senior pharmacy students from March to May 2023 using a pre-planned interview guide of open-ended questions. All interviews were audio-recorded. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The results were obtained from 15 in-depth face-to-face interviews with senior pharmacy students (5th and 4th years). Eight participants were male, an
... Show MoreBackground: The roles of AI in the academic community continue to grow, especially in the enhancement of learning outcomes and the improvement of writing quality and efficiency. Objectives: To explore in depth the experience of senior pharmacy students in using artificial intelligence for academic purposes. Methods: This qualitative study included face-to-face individual interviews with senior pharmacy students from March to May 2023 using a pre-planned interview guide of open-ended questions. All interviews were audio-recorded. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The results were obtained from 15 in-depth face-to-face interviews with senior pharmacy students (5th and 4th years). Eight participants were male, and seven
... Show MoreObjective The incidence of rhythm and conduction abnormalities during acute myocardial infarction may approaches 100%; most are seen during the pre-hospital and coronary care unit phases, leading to deleterious effect on morbidity and mortality, this study conducted to find important persistent dysrhythmia found during CCU admission of acute myocardial infarction patients.Method A retrospective observational study of 553 patients who were admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of Alkindy Teaching Hospital during Year 2011 with diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, Information and data extracted from case sheets and associated 12 leads daily ECGsResults only 25% of our patients had dysrhythmia on examining the present 12 leads ECGs , the
... Show MoreResearch studies show that urban green spaces promote physical activity, the health of urban residents, and psychological well-being. Taking the community park in Duhok city as the research object, the spatial service area in terms of accessibility of to the Community Park under the mode of pedestrian transportation is analyzed by using the network analysis service area function of the geographic information system (GIS). The results show that under the walking mode in the research area, Parks are concentrated in the north and south of the city, but community parks are few in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In addition, there is a significant disparity between the number of community parks and the number of communities. Only 11 communities
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to investigate the histological, enzyme histochemical changes and liver function effects of Maxxthor insecticide on albino rats in liver. The experiment included 20 rat which were divided into four groups, the first group 5 rats were considered the control animals and the others were divided equally into three groups with a dose of 0.01, 0.1and 1 mg / kg of body weight, respectively for a period 40 days. The animals given each 48 hours via oral route Maxxthor by tube dosage after dissolved with distilled water. Microscopic examination of liver showed inflammatory cell aggregation around vessels, congestion and dilation of sinusoids hepatocytes hypertrophy with severs inflammatory cells infiltration, kupffer cells pro
... Show MoreThis study aimed to evaluate the preparedness and adherence of community pharmacists to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Health Advisory COVID-19 guidelines for pharmacists (July 2020) during COVID-19 pandemic. This was a cross-sectional study based on electronic survey using google form, which was distributed from November 19, 2020 to January 1, 2021 using social media platforms. The survey measured 21 pharmacy preventive measures (PM). A multivariate regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing pharmacy implementing of PM. Hand disinfection after serving patients represented the main adopted measure (89.3%). Surprisingly, only 35.4% of participants implemented the proper ways of hand disinfection during fa
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