OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine factors associated with the modification of initial HAART regimen modification among HIV-infected children.
METHOD: A retrospective study was performed among HIV-infected children aged 18 and below, that received HAART for at least six months in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia. Factors associated with modification of initial HAART regimen were investigated.
RESULTS: Out of 99 patients, 71.1% (n=71) required initial HAART regime modification. The most common reason for HAART modification was treatment failure (n=39, 54.9%). Other reasons included drug toxicity (n=14, 19.7%), change to fixed-dose products (n=11, 15.5%), product discontinuation (n=4, 5.6%) and intolerable taste (n=3, 4.2%). The overall mean time retention on initial HAART before regimen modification was 3.32 year ± 2.24 years (95% CI, 2.79-3.85). Patient's adherence was the only factor associated with initial regimen modification in this study. Participants with poor adherence showed a five-fold risk of having their initial HAART regimen modified compared to those with good adherence (adjusted OR [95% CI], 5.250 [1.614 - 17.076], p = 0.006).
CONCLUSION: Poor adherence was significantly associated with initial regimen modification, intervention to improve patient's adherence is necessary to prevent multiple regimen modification among HIV-infected children.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi from June 2020 to August 2020. A total of 775 patients participated to fill questionnaire. After scrutiny, 25 questionnaire forms were excluded due to incomplete information. Questionnaire was divided in to four sections. First section obtained patients sociodemographic information, while knowledge of patients regarding cross-infection control during COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated in second section. Similarly, the purpose of third section was to assess attitude and fourth section was designed to evaluate practice. Likert's 3-point scale was used for registration of participant's response. The reliability of questionnaire was assessed through Crohnbach's α (α = 0.74). Statistical analysis was performed after entering data in to SPSS version 25. Independent t-test was used to evaluate the difference in patients' knowledge, attitude, and practice. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
RESULTS: Majority of the participants agreed that COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease (631, 97%) and daily screening of staff, dental assistants, dentists, and patients is necessary (568, 75.7%) along with proper sterilization of instruments and disinfection of dental operatory (650, 86.66%). A large number of participant also agreed that proper disposal of waste is utmost important for cross-infection control (601, 80.24%) and patient's waiting area should also be marked with social distancing sign (620, 82.66%). However, when asked about the common route of COVID-19 transmission in dentistry, 341 (45.5%) participants disagreed that it is not through aerosol (water droplets) generated during dental procedures.
CONCLUSIONS: Dental health professionals should take additional measures to educate dental patients on mechanism of potential spread of COVID-19 through the aerosols and droplets generated during dental procedures. They should also encourage the dental patients to be vigilant and question the cross-infection control measures practiced by the dentist to whom they go for dental treatment, and to decrease their chances of acquiring an infection during their visit to the dental office.
METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study included close-ended questions to inquire about the teaching practices of fixed prosthodontics at Bachelor of Dental Surgery level education. Electronic copies of the survey forms were sent to the heads or directors of department of prosthodontics responsible for undergraduate dental students teaching and learning in various institutes of Sindh by the help of Google forms in December 2020. The form included questions on sociodemographic details and questions inquiring the theoretical and clinical teaching practices in undergraduate fixed prosthodontics course. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS 25. Frequency distribution and percentages of categorical variables were recorded.
RESULTS: Out of total 18 dental institutes of Sindh, 15 returned the completely filled form, giving a response rate of 83.3%. Seven (46.7%) schools teach various fixed prosthesis in the preclinical years to their students. All 15 colleges carry out didactic teaching and provide exposure by live clinical demonstrations for various fixed prosthesis. Faculty of 12 (80%) dental colleges where fixed prostheses are being constructed in the dental outpatient department mentioned that their students observe or assist the clinical procedures during their clinical rotation; but none of the students fabricate any type of fixed prosthesis in the clinical setting during their undergraduate years.
CONCLUSION: Didactic teaching and live clinical demonstrations of fixed prosthodontics is being carried out in all dental colleges of Sindh. Almost half of the dental schools teach crown preparation on phantom teeth during their preclinical course. Contrary to this, none of the students fabricate any type of fixed prosthesis in the clinical setting during their undergraduate years. As these procedures are not included in the current undergraduate curriculum, recommendations should be forwarded to governing educational body of the country to include cases of fixed prosthesis in their skill set prior to their graduation.
OBJECTIVES: To assess UAE community pharmacists' knowledge, toward women's issues in epilepsy.
METHODS: a cross-sectional research method was employed. A team of seven pharmacy students in their final year visited a randomly selected sample of community pharmacies in the UAE and face-to-face interviews were conducted with the pharmacists using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire includes two parts; Eight questions designed to elicit data about the demographics of the study participants and 12 questions eliciting insights into the participants' knowledge of women's issues in epilepsy.
RESULTS: A total of 412 community pharmacist were recruited in the study. The overall level of knowledge about women's issues in epilepsy was good and the average knowledge score was 81% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) [79.1, 82.7%]. The results of multivariate analysis showed higher knowledge scores in chain pharmacies (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.12-1.67), Chief pharmacists (OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.01-2.06), Pharmacists in charge (OR 3.46; 95% CI 2.7-4.45), pharmacists with 1-5 Years of experience (OR 2.87; 95% CI 1.71-4.82), pharmacists with 6-10 Years (OR 2.63; 95% CI 1.58-4.38), pharmacists with >10 years (OR 3.13; 95% CI 2.03-4.83), graduation form regional universities (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.12-1.67), graduation form international universities (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.36-2.20) and receiving a training on epilepsy (OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.12-1.67).
CONCLUSION: While the findings reveal an overall promising level of knowledge among community pharmacists regarding the issues faced by women with epilepsy, pinpointing which clinical and demographic factors have the most significant impact on this knowledge would permit the implementation of tailored educational interventions. Workshops and modules targeting the issues faced by women with epilepsy would further raise the knowledge and competence among community pharmacists in this area, ensuring better pharmaceutical care for this population.