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
Degradation is one of the key processes governing the impact of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment. Most studies on the degradation of pharmaceuticals have focused on soil and sludge, with fewer exploring persistence in aquatic sediments. We investigated the dissipation of 6 pharmaceuticals from different therapeutic classes in a range of sediment types. Dissipation of each pharmaceutical was found to follow first‐order exponential decay. Half‐lives in the sediments ranged from 9.5 (atenolol) to 78.8 (amitriptyline) d. Under sterile conditions, the persistence of pharmaceuticals was considerably longer. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed to
The objectives of the study were to identify the incidence rate and characteristics of adverse drug events (ADEs) in nursing homes (NHs) using the ADE trigger tool and to evaluate the relationships between resident and facility work system factors and incidence of ADEs using the System Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model. The study used 2 observational quantitative methods, retrospective resident chart extraction, and surveys. The participating staff included Directors of nursing, registered nurses, certified nurse assistants (CNAs). Data were collected from fall 2016 to spring 2017 from 11 NHs in 9 cities in Iowa. Binary logistic regression with generalized estimated equations was used to measure the association
... Show MoreRecently, environmental noise has arisen from various sources, such as those from exhaust mufflers of combustion engines found in cars, trucks, or power generators, which produce significant noise during their operation. Controlling the radiated noise from these mufflers is a major factor in improving acoustic comfort and minimizing the impact on the surrounding communities. Numerous research has been presented for this reason by modification of the internal structure of the exhaust muffler. The main objective of this work is to reduce the noise level emitted from exhaust mufflers. This can be achieved by adjusting structure parameters to attenuate the surrounding environment's radiated noise. Analysis of pressure-wave propagation h
... Show MoreFlow-production systems whose pieces are connected in a row may not have maintenance scheduling procedures fixed because problems occur at different times (electricity plants, cement plants, water desalination plants). Contemporary software and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are used to fulfill the research objectives by developing a predictive maintenance program. The data of the fifth thermal unit of the power station for the electricity of Al Dora/Baghdad are used in this study. Three stages of research were conducted. First, missing data without temporal sequences were processed. The data were filled using time series hour after hour and the times were filled as system working hours, making the volume of the data relativel
... Show MoreUniversity libraries seek to evaluate their performance in order to correct their path and adjust it in the right direction. Therefore, they use (performance indicators), which are a tool used by institutions to evaluate the weaknesses and strengths in their work and the reasons for failure to achieve some goals sometimes. They convert (goals, procedures and actions) into a formula that can be measured mathematically, which contributes to the library determining the gap between its current performance and what those libraries are supposed to be on, clarifying the path that the library is following, controlling the risks that may befall it, and thus enhancing the process of continuous improvement to avoid areas of failure and weakness becaus
... Show MoreGiant Cell Fibroma (GCF) is a relatively rare oral mucosal lesion, so named due to the characteristic giant cells present within the fibrous stroma of the lesion, limited number of clinicopathological studies were performed in previously published literature. This study was performed to evaluate the clinicopathological features of Giant cell fibroma in a sample of Iraqi patients. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections from 22 giant cell fibroma in period between 2010 and 2018 were retrieved from the laboratory of oral pathology of Baghdad University/College of Dentistry, Clinical data and microscopic features were reviewed and analyzed according to the available surgical reports. The mean age of patients at the time of diagnosis was 29.6
... Show MoreFast dissolving film can be defined as a dosage form, which when placed in the oral cavity. It will rapidly disintegrate and dissolves to release the medication for oral mucosal absorption or allow for the gastrointestinal absorption to be achieved when swallowed.
Flurbiprofen is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent with antipyretic and analgesic properties and can be used in low doses 8.75 mg as analgesic and anti inflammatory agent in sore throat infection. This study aims to formulate flurbiprofen as oral dissolving films, to improve the effective relief of pain with severe sore throats with little or no adverse effect.
Nine formulas were prepared using solvent-casting method, and t
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