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
Background: Preoperative radiographical assessment of the maxillofacial lesions is of a great importance in guiding the surgeon during surgical procedure in reducing post-operative complications. This study highlighted the application of CBCT scan in the assessment of maxillofacial cystic and cystic like lesions as a part of advanced radiology Materials and methods: A total of 20 patients (15 males and 5 females) participated in this prospective study. CBCT scan (Kodak 9500 CBCT) with (DICOM) software utilized to perform scanning to all patients in order to assess lesion extension, morphological features and it’s relation to the adjacent vital structures. Results: In this study, the total cystic and cystic like lesions involving the
... Show MoreAbstract:
Most of the studies on this subject, small industrial projects, by researchers and scholars in the economic field show the great and increasing importance of doing this kind of projects, the extent of which can be determined by the contribution of these projects to indicators and macroeconomic and sectorial variables. So this research aims to show the extent of the economic contribution of projects in selected international experiences and in the Iraqi economy. As international experiences have provided the opportunity for the progress and growth of small projects in their economies, which led to an increase in the contribution of these projects in the recruitment of economically active manpower, in added
... Show MorePortable and stationary electrical generators became quite popular in Iraq soon after the shortage in national electrical
energy after 2003. Multi step risk assessment process is used in this study in the assessment of risks caused by
contamination of indoor air by lead particles emitted from domestic electrical generators. Two portable electrical
generators are tested under controlled indoor conditions (Radial LG (0.9 keV) fueled with benzene and oil and TigMax
(3 keV), fueled with benzene only). Lead particles in air were sampled by using portable dust sampler (Sniffer, L-30).
The atmospheric particulate sampling process is carried out in a flat located in the first floor of a three stories building
located in Baghdad
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive and chronic disease manifested by β-cell dysfunction and improved insulin resistance. Higher levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptors have been found to predict morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients with cardiac disease.
This study aims to explore the role of serum urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor levels as a prognostic marker among type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients.
Anemia in pregnancy can considerably elevate the maternal mortality risk and can negatively distress the development of fetus.
To assess the association between neonatal outcomes and maternal anemia (MA) among pregnant women (PW).
The present work is a clinical prospective one performed at Al-Elwiya Maternity
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to choose top stocks through technical analysis tools specially the indicator called (ratio of William index), and test the ability of technical analysis tools in building a portfolio of shares efficient in comparison with the market portfolio. These one technical tools were used for building one portfolios in 21 companies on specific preview conditions and choose 10 companies for the period from (March 2015) to (June 2017). Applied results of the research showed that Portfolio yield for companies selected according to the ratio of William index indicator (0.0406) that
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic respiratory disease highly prevalent worldwide. Recent studies have suggested a role for microbiome-associated gut–lung axis in asthma development. In the current study, we investigated if Resveratrol (RES), a plant-based polyphenol, can attenuate ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine allergic asthma, and if so, the role of microbiome in the gut–lung axis in this process. We found that RES attenuated allergic asthma with significant improvements in pulmonary functions in OVA-exposed mice when tested using plethysmography for frequency (F), mean volume (MV), specific airway resistance (sRaw), and delay time(dT). RES treatment also suppressed inflammatory cytokines in the lungs. RES modulated lung microbiota and cause
... Show MoreThe research amid to find out the extent of Iraqi oil companies commitment to implement internal control procedures in accordance with the updated COSO framework. As the research problem was represented in the fact that many of the internal control procedures applied in the Iraqi oil companies are incompatible with most modern international frameworks for internal control, including the integrated COSO framework, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Tradeway Committee. The research followed the quantitative approach to handling and analysing data by designing a checklist to represent the research tool for collecting data. The study population was represented in the Iraqi oil companies, while the study sample
... Show MoreThis study was conducted at the Poultry Research Station of the Agricultural Research Department/Ministry of Agriculture in Abu Ghraib for the period from 25/2/2019 to 7/4/2019 (42 days) with the aim of using several levels of Spirulina (SP)