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.
Background: 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 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: 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: The risk of antibiotics resistance (AR) increases due to excessive of antibiotics either by health care provider or by the patients.
Objective: The assessment of the self-medication Practice of over the counter drugs and other prescription drugs and its associated risk factor.
Subjects and Methods: Study design: A descriptive study was conducted from “20th December 2019 to 08th January 2021”. A pre validated and structured questionnaire in English and Urdu language was created to avoid language barrier including personal detail, reasons and source and knowledge about over the counter drugs and Antibiotics. Sample of the study was randomly selected.
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to measure the change in the impact of the factors of the Corona pandemic on psychological sensitivity and COVID-19 phobia in a sample of Bisha University students and to detect the differences in the phobia (phobia) Covid-19 among the sample members in the measurement before the ban and after the ban was opened, in addition to the differences in psychological sensitivity of The sample has between sizes before and after the spread of the Corona pandemic, as well as the differences in them according to the gender variable (male, female). The researcher relied on the comparative approach. The scale of psychological sensitivity and COVID-19 phobia was applied to a sample of (62) male and female respondents.
... Show MoreBackground: One common undesirable side effect of orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances is the development of incipient caries lesions around brackets, particularly in patients with poor oral hygiene. Different methods have been used to prevent demineralization; the recent effort to improve the resistance against the demineralization is by the application of lasers. Materials and method: Thirty human premolars extracted for orthodontic purposes were used to test the effect of two energy level of ER-YAG laser on enamel resistance to demineralization. The brackets were bonded on the teeth and all the labial surface excluding 2 mm area gingival to the brackets were painted with acid resistance varnish. Three groups were generated. The fi
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