Community pharmacists faced more complex challenges in meeting patients’ medication needs during the pandemic than previously reported in the literature. Objectives To explore the perception and abilities of community pharmacists in managing patients’ needs in terms of medication dispensing during the pandemic, and to examine its effect on improving the patients’ situations. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study design, validated by 30 experts, was conducted using an electronic survey (Google Form) to assess the effect of the dispensing practice of Iraqi community pharmacists on the patient’s clinical outcomes during the pandemic. The survey was distributed on professional pharmacist’s social media platforms from December 2021 to June 2022. Results It was found that more than 75% of participants agreed that their role in managing mild cases of COVID-19 decreased the strain on other healthcare professionals. The pharmacists perceived that more than 80% of the patients were satisfied with the pharmacist’s advice regarding the COVID-19 treatment plan and recorded significant improvement (p ˂ 0.05) in the signs and symptoms of those patients. This was achieved by dispensing antibiotics, analgesics, and supplements according to the community pharmacists’ opinion. The main reason behind dispensing antibiotics and analgesics in Iraqi pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic was to provide the official prescription for patients. In contrast, 90% of the dispensed drugs without a prescription were nutritional supplements and analgesics, with vitamin C and paracetamol accounting for 90.8% and 88.9%, respectively. On the other hand, the antibiotics represented 70.5% of the dispensed drugs without a prescription, with azithromycin accounting for 76.1% of them. Conclusion Most of the participants succeeded in dealing with COVID-19 patients and were confident in dispensing analgesics, antibiotics, and supplements to treat mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 patients. Patients who trusted the pharmacist’s advice got significant improvement in their COVID-19 symptoms.
COVID-19 is a coronavirus disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was responsible for 87,747,940 recorded infections and 1,891,352 confirmed deaths as of January 9, 2021. Antibodies that target the Sprotein are efficient in neutralizing the virus. Methodology: 180 samples were collected from clinical sources (Blood and Nasopharyngeal swabs) and from different ages and genders at diverse hospitals in Baghdad / IRAQ between November 5, 2021, to January 20, 2022. All samples were confirmed infected with COVID-19 disease by RT-PCR technique. Haematology analysis and blood group were done for all samples, and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay used an Ig
... Show MoreCOVID-19 is a unique viral infectious illness that causes a variety of symptoms and health hazards, particularly to the respiratory system and has been declared a worldwide pandemic. The disease is characterized by a cytokine release in severe conditions. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine, mediates an important immunomodulatory process. Also, vitamin D was identified to have a role in the innate immunity of individuals. Our study was designed to find the role of IL-6 and vitamin D in COVID-19 patients, as well as, to see whether there is a link between vitamin D deficiency and cytokine syndrome development. The study included 90 COVID-19 patients and 30 control people from Baghdad, Iraq. The age of the participants was non-s
... Show MoreBackground: Age progression is regarded as a critical risk factor in morbidity and mortality because of a weakened immune system. Although various studies have dealt with electrolyte imbalance in COVID-19 patients, the outcomes of these studies were partially understood. Objective: The current study aims to determine some biochemical parameters in old Iraqi COVID-19 patients and highlight the outcomes according to the aging role in the development of COVID-19 by suggesting new mechanisms. Materials and methods: forty COVID-19 patients were enrolled in the current study and divided into two groups: Gm includes (20) men, and Gf includes (20) women. The parameters (Na+, K+, Cl-, LDH, and Hb ) were determined in sera of patients and c
... Show MoreBackground: COVID-19 has caused a considerable number of hospital admissions in China since December 2019. Many COVID-19 patients experience signs of acute respiratory distress syndrome, and some are even in danger of dying. Objective: to measure the serum levels of D-dimer, Neutrophil-Lymphocyte count ratio (NLR), and neopterin in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 in Baghdad, Iraq. And to determine the cut-off values (critical values) of these markers for the distinction between the severe patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 and the controls. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, we collect blood from 89 subjects, 45 were severe patients hospitalized in many Baghdad medical centers who were diagnosed with COVID
... Show MoreBackground and Purpose: Coronavirus has posed an unfamiliar threat to the world. Despite such circumstances, Malaysians continue to stay optimistic by keeping abreast with updates and mostly by seeking refuge in hopeful and consoling messages shared by fellow citizens. This study identified Facebook postings with positive messages, posted by Malaysians during the Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the Malaysian government as a form of prosocial behaviour. Methodology: Through an analytic framework consisting of Positive Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis, 15 Facebook postings related to COVID-19 were selected and identified as positive discourse, which were coded and categorised using a thematic analysi
... Show MoreWith its rapid spread, the coronavirus infection shocked the world and had a huge effect on billions of peoples' lives. The problem is to find a safe method to diagnose the infections with fewer casualties. It has been shown that X-Ray images are an important method for the identification, quantification, and monitoring of diseases. Deep learning algorithms can be utilized to help analyze potentially huge numbers of X-Ray examinations. This research conducted a retrospective multi-test analysis system to detect suspicious COVID-19 performance, and use of chest X-Ray features to assess the progress of the illness in each patient, resulting in a "corona score." where the results were satisfactory compared to the benchmarked techniques. T
... Show MoreAim: To find any association between specific ABO blood groups and FUT2 secretory status and COVID-19 in a sample of Iraqi dentists. Materials and Methods: For each participant, a questionnaire including demography, COVID-19 status, blood grouping, and RH factor, with chemo-sensitive symptoms was recorded. The saliva samples were collected and DNA was extracted from leukocytes. Sequencing of molecular detection of the FUT2 gene by real-time PCR and the data was done, whilst drawing the phylogenetic tree. Results: Out of 133, most of the dentists were female 61%, most were just under 35 years of age. The most participants in this study were predominantly with blood group O (40%), followed by B, A, and AB, with (90%) of them were RH+.
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