Background: While warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used to manage thromboembolic events, they possess several features that impact adherence. Objective: To assess medication adherence and self-efficacy in patients receiving warfarin or DOAC treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at Ibn Al-Bitar Hospital in Baghdad from December 2022 to May 2023 on patients receiving either warfarin or DOACs. The Arabic version of the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) questionnaire and the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale (SES6C) questionnaire were used to assess adherence and self-efficacy. Results: 181 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 56.9% received warfarin and 43.1% received DOACs. The mean ARMS score was 13.71, and 81.77% of the patients were adherent to anticoagulant therapy. There was a significant difference in adherence between the warfarin and DOAC groups. The mean SES6C score for the participants was 50.01. Patients in the DOAC group had significantly higher self-efficacy compared to those in the warfarin group. The adherence score correlated significantly with patients’ gender, education level, hospitalization and duration of anticoagulant use, while the SES6C score did not correlate with any of the independent variables. There was a significant negative correlation between self-efficacy scores and medication adherence scores. Conclusions: Patients receiving DOACs showed a higher self-efficacy to manage chronic diseases and lower medication adherence as compared to warfarin. Higher self-efficacy was associated with higher adherence to treatment.
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) contaminated sites at Al-Rumaila Iraqi oil fields have been characterized as a part of soil remediation project. Activity of radium isotopes in contaminated soil have been determined using gamma spectrometer High Purity Germanium detector (HPGe) and found to be very high for Al-Markezia, Al-Qurainat degassing stations and storage area at Khadhir Almay region. The activity concentration of samples ranges from 6474.11±563.8 Bq/kg to 1232.5±60.9 Bq/kg with mean value of 3853.3 Bq/kg for 226Ra, 843.59±8.39 Bq/kg to 302.2±9.2 Bq/kg with mean value of 572.9 Bq/kg for 232Th and 294.31±18.56 Bq/kg to 156.64±18.1 Bq/kg with mean value of 225.5 for 40K. S
... 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 MoreChronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorders characterized by formation of Philadelphia chromosome. After disease development, several events may associate with the reduction of anti-tumor immunity. The present study was designed to investigate the immunological profile of innate and adaptive immune response in Iraqi patients with CML. Patients were grouped into untreated (UT), treated (T) with chemotherapy, while another apparently healthy individuals were recruited to represent the control (C) group. Methods: ELISA technique was used to estimate serum levels of GM-CSF, IL-1a, IL-8, IL2, INF-?, IL-4, and IL-10 while SRID was used to estimate serum levels of C4, IgM, IgA, and IgG. Results: Regarding to innate immune resp
... Show MoreBackground: Biologic mechanisms of the form-function interaction are one of important component of orthodontic diagnosis. The purpose of this study is to search for the statistical associations between natural postural and craniofacial morphologic variables of the head. Materials and methods: The sample comprised natural head posture (NHP) cephalograms of 90 subjects, aged 18 to 25 years. Interpretation of the facial structure was made by using both intracranial and the extra-cranial reference lines in AutoCAD computer program. Results The measures of anteroposterior maxillary position, SNA showed a low negative correlations with the anterior cranial base angulation to true vertical (SN.Ver) and with the cranio-cervical position of the head
... Show MoreBreast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequently observed malignancy in females worldwide. Today, tamoxifen (TAM) is considered as the highly effective therapy for treatment of breast tumors. Oxidative stress has implicated strongly in the pathophysiology of malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the levels of oxidants and antioxidants in patients with newly diagnosed and TAM-treated BC. Sixty newly diagnosed and 60 TAM-treated women with BC and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters including total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase (CAT) activity were determined before and after treatment with TAM. The serum levels of TOC and oxidative stress index (OSI) were
... Show MoreBackground: The association between facial types and dental arches forms has considerable implications in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. The aim was to establish the maxillary and mandibular dental arches width and length in skeletal and dental class II division 1 and class III malocclusion groups, find out the most frequent dental arch form and facial type and the association between them and to check the gender differences. Materials and Methods: Frontal and lateral facial photographs and maxillary and mandibular occlussal photographs for 90 iraqi subjects with age 18-25 years old (45 males and 45 females) divided equally into three groups, the 1st group with class II division 1malocclusion (overjet more than 3mm but less t
... Show MoreThe present study was performed on 80 female subjects between (30-60) years, who attended the Specialized Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes during the period from April to July; 2011. The subjects were divided into 3 groups : controls , non diabetic autoimmune thyroid patients , and non diabetic autoimmune thyroid patient with renal diseases as complication The results showed a significant increase in serum T 3 T4 levels in hyperthyroidism patients, and significant decrease in serum T3,T4 levels in hypothyroidism patients ,while a significant difference in serum TSH levels in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism patients when compared to control group The results show also a significant increase in serum antibodies to thyroid peroxidas
... Show MoreThe Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs)
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