OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence, clinical features and risk factors of cADRs among hospitalized patients.
METHODS: A prospective study was conducted among medical inpatients from July to December 2014.
RESULTS: A total of 43 cADRs were seen among 11 017 inpatients, yielding an incidence rate of 0.4%. cADR accounted for hospitalization in 26 patients. Previous history of cADR was present in 14 patients, with 50% exposed to the same drug taken previously. Potentially lifethreatening severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR), namely drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS: 14 cases) and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SJS/TEN: 6 cases) comprise almost 50% of cADRs. The commonest culprit drug group was antibiotics (37.2%), followed by anticonvulsants (18.6%). Cotrimoxazole, phenytoin and rifampicin were the main causative drugs for DRESS. Anticonvulsants were most frequently implicated in SJS/TEN (66.7%). Most cases had "probable" causality relationship with suspected drug (69.8%). The majority of cases were of moderate severity (65.1%), while 18.6% had severe reaction with 1 death recorded. Most cases were not preventable (76.7%). Older age (> 60 years) and mucosal involvement were significantly associated with a more severe reaction.
CONCLUSION: The incidence of cADRs was 0.4%, with most cases classified as moderate severity and not preventable. The commonest reaction pattern was DRESS, while the main culprit drug group was antibiotics. Older age and mucosal membrane involvement predicts a severe drug reaction.
METHODS: A case-control study to examine serum 25- hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in children with and without AD was done. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level was measured by immunoassay. AD severity was evaluated using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index.
RESULTS: The serum levels of 25(OH)D, measured in 135 children with AD was not statistically different from 65 children without AD [median (IQR): 25.2ng/mL (15.45) vs 25.9ng/mL (15.87), p=0.616]. However, serum vitamin D levels were significantly lower in children with severe AD compared to those with mild-to-moderate AD [median (IQR): 16.0ng/mL (19.32) vs 26.3ng/mL (15.56), p=0.021]. The odds of having vitamin D deficiency in children with severe AD was 3.82 times that of children with non-severe AD (95% confidence level: 1.13, 12.87).
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that there is an inverse association between vitamin D level and the severity of AD in Malaysian children.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted with 300 community pharmacists in the Klang Valley, Malaysia using a stratified sampling approach. The questionnaire consisted of 36 questions with three sections: demographic data, adoption of mHealth applications and perception towards mHealth applications. Descriptive and inferential tests as well as exploratory factor analysis were used to analyse the data.
KEY FINDINGS: Adoption of mHealth applications by community pharmacists for both professional and personal use was relatively high at 79.7%. Utilised mHealth applications were primarily from the medical references category, while applications for patient monitoring, personal care and fitness were used to a lesser degree. Among mHealth application users, only 65.7% recommended them to their patients. Overall perception towards mHealth applications was positive, but perception towards the benefits and favour of mHealth applications for their patients was lower. This was corroborated by the factor analysis, which identified four main factors explaining 59.9% of variance in the dataset. These factors were perception towards use in their own professional practice, perception on benefits and use in their patients, perception on specific features of mHealth applications, and reliability of mHealth applications.
CONCLUSIONS: Adoption of mHealth applications among community pharmacists in Malaysia is high. Community pharmacists are more likely to use mHealth applications professionally and personally but less likely to recommend them to patients due to less favourable perceptions on how patients will benefit from mHealth applications.