Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 24 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Nair S
    Saudi Pharm J, 2016 Sep;24(5):600-604.
    PMID: 27752233
    Pharmacy students' knowledge about adverse drug reaction reporting can impact their attitude towards patient care and issues on patient safety. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and perception of pharmacy students about adverse drug reaction reporting and pharmacovigilance and to study their willingness to report. A cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire was conducted among the university students. The demographic details of the respondents were studied. The number of female respondents was comparatively higher than the male respondents. There were no significant differences by gender regarding the knowledge on adverse drug reaction reporting and pharmacovigilance except with the knowledge of post-marketing surveillance for which male students appeared to be more knowledgeable than female students. The results showed that the pharmacy students had sufficient knowledge and there are significant differences in perception among the students on adverse drug reaction reporting.
  2. Rajiah K, Sivarasa S, Maharajan MK
    PMID: 33918990 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18094392
    Community pharmacists are responsible for providing the appropriate information on the use of medications to patients, which may enhance their medication adherence. The extent of control that patients have on their health care preferences creates many challenges for community pharmacists. This study aimed to determine the impact of pharmacist interventions and patient decisions on health outcomes concerning medication adherence and the quality use of medicines among patients attending community pharmacies. Appropriate studies were identified in a systematic search using the databases of Medline, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The search included literature published between 2004 and 2019. The database searches yielded 683 titles, of which 19 studies were included after the full-text analysis with a total of 9313 participants. Metaprop command in Stata software version 14 was used for the analysis. This study was undertaken based on the general principles of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and subsequently reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) extension. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach was directly used to rate the quality of evidence (high, moderate, low, or very low). The results revealed the effective interaction between patients and community pharmacists, the importance of pharmacist intervention on medication adherence and quality use of medicine, and the role of community pharmacists in counselling patients. Decision/choice of patients in self-care and self-medication is a factor contributing to health outcomes. Effective interaction of community pharmacists with patients in terms of medication adherence and quality use of medicines provided a better health outcome among patients. The community pharmacists influenced the decision/choice of patients in self-care and self-medications.
  3. Chu J, Maharajan MK, Rajiah K
    Int J Pharm Pract, 2024 Mar 06;32(2):146-155.
    PMID: 38071745 DOI: 10.1093/ijpp/riad087
    OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate patterns of extended pharmacy services (EPS) provided by Malaysian community pharmacists and their willingness to provide value-added services (VAS) in addition to EPS. Additionally, this study examined the barriers to the effective implementation of these two services.

    METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire among community pharmacists in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Convenience sampling was done, and descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were performed.

    RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-six pharmacists participated. The most rendered EPS were nutritional supplements, hypertension management, and diabetic management, while chronic kidney disease management, smoking cessation, and mental health services were the least rendered. Pharmacists were willing to provide medication waste management and vaccination as VAS but were less inclined towards therapeutic drug monitoring and sterile compounding. Barriers included limited access to medical records of patients, lack of designated counselling areas, and concerns about remuneration. High sales pressure and busy workloads were additional barriers to providing VAS. Continuous professional development (CPD) positively influenced pharmacists' engagement in EPS and VAS.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights service provision trends and areas for improvement. Addressing identified barriers, such as enhancing access to patient records and establishing designated counselling areas, can improve service delivery. Remuneration models and workload management strategies should be considered to alleviate barriers related to sales pressure and time constraints. Promoting CPD opportunities is crucial for enhancing pharmacist engagement and optimizing EPS and VAS.

  4. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Chin NS, Num KS
    Virusdisease, 2015 Dec;26(4):297-303.
    PMID: 26645041 DOI: 10.1007/s13337-015-0287-3
    The major cause of cervical cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV) for which vaccination is available. The success HPV vaccination programme largely depend on the degree of knowledge of the healthcare providers who can recommend to the public. Health sciences students as future healthcare providers play a major role in HPV vaccination initiatives. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, practice and to find out the willingness to pay for HPV vaccination among the health sciences students in a private university. The cross-sectional study was conducted among the university students studying health sciences program using a validated questionnaire to measure their awareness and acceptance of HPV vaccination. The students demonstrated moderate knowledge about HPV infection and vaccination with mean knowledge scores of 9.3 out of 17. Students were showing positive attitude towards HPV vaccination with mean scores of 3.80 out of 5. However, low HPV vaccination uptake rate was reported among the students. Most of the students were willing to recommend HPV vaccine. The participants felt that the cost is the major barrier towards HPV vaccination and they felt the government should cover the cost of vaccination for all. The results of this study may be helpful in establishing educational policies on cervical cancer-related topics in the universities.
  5. Maharajan MK, Rajiah K, Sze Fang KN, Lui LY
    J Cancer Educ, 2017 03;32(1):166-174.
    PMID: 26661462 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-015-0957-2
    This study was conducted to evaluate knowledge of undergraduate pharmacy students about human papillomavirus infection and their attitude towards its prevention. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 270 undergraduate pharmacy students using a validated questionnaire to assess knowledge about human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer and their attitudes towards human papillomavirus vaccines. Eighty-one percent of the respondents knew that human papillomavirus is a cause of cervical cancer, and 87.8 % knew that this infection is preventable. The gender of the respondents showed the strongest correlations with human papillomavirus knowledge. There were no significant correlations between the ethnic group of the respondents and their human papillomavirus-related knowledge. Higher perceptions of risk were associated with relationship status, and respondents who were in a relationship showed greater interest in vaccinating themselves; relationship status emerged as a unique predictor. The results indicated a moderately high level of knowledge and positive attitude towards human papillomavirus vaccination with few disagreements. The results of this study will help to develop and plan appropriate education campaigns for pharmacy students that aim to reduce human papillomavirus infection and, consequently, the incidence of and mortality caused by cervical cancer in Malaysia.
  6. Maharajan MK, Rajiah K, Num KS, Yong NJ
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2015;16(14):5733-9.
    PMID: 26320444
    The primary objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of medical students and determine variation between different cultural groups. A secondary aim was to find out the willingness to pay for cervical cancer vaccination and the relationships between knowledge and attitudes towards Human Papillomavirus vaccination. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a private medical university between June 2014 and November 2014 using a convenient sampling method. A total of 305 respondents were recruited and interviewed with standard questionnaires for assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards human papilloma virus and their willingness to pay for HPV vaccination. Knowledge regarding human papilloma virus, human papilloma virus vaccination, cervical cancer screening and cervical cancer risk factors was good. Across the sample, a majority (90%) of the pupils demonstrated a high degree of knowledge about cervical cancer and its vaccination. There were no significant differences between ethnicity and the participants' overall knowledge of HPV infection, Pap smear and cervical cancer vaccination. Some 88% of participants answered that HPV vaccine can prevent cervical cancer, while 81.5% of medical students said they would recommend HPV vaccination to the public although fewer expressed an intention to receive vaccination for themselves.
  7. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Ramaya H, Wan Ab Rahman WNA
    Front Med (Lausanne), 2021;8:617147.
    PMID: 34368172 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.617147
    Introduction: Administration of psychotropic pro re nata (PRN) medications is influenced by diverse factors such as legal use of PRN medications, the attitude of patients, personal bias, and stigma toward such medication use. While PRN prescriptions increase the efficiency of care and encourage patients to participate in self-care, the use of psychotropic PRN medications by outpatients has raised concerns about its risks of harm, especially for the outpatients. This study explored the use of psychotropic PRN medications by patients attending the outpatient clinic in a hospital. Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted. Purposeful sampling was done to achieve cases with enriched information. Participants were chosen regardless of their ethnicity and were selected using the database and patient records in the clinic. Patients 18 years of age prescribed PRN psychotropic medications attending outpatient clinics in a hospital were included. Vulnerable patients (e.g., pregnant ladies, prisoners, cognitively impaired individual, AIDS/HIV subjects, and terminally ill subjects) were excluded. Results: This study revealed the patients' perspectives and experiences on self-management of psychotropic PRN medications. The themes that emerged were clustered as education and background, knowledge on psychotropic medications, frequency of medication intake, underuse of medication, the overdose of medication, side effects concern, source of information, and personal experience. Conclusions: Patients' understanding of medication, inappropriate medication use, cues to action, and use of alternatives are the factors that affected the self-management of psychotropic PRN medications by the patients.
  8. Maharajan MK, Rajiah K, Belotindos JS, Basa MS
    Front Public Health, 2020;8:170.
    PMID: 32582602 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00170
    Objective: To investigate the factors predicting knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) toward Zika virus infection among women population in Cebu City, Philippines. Study Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March 2018 to May 2018. Ethical practices were followed. A total of 702 women was approached and finally 516 completed the survey. Methods: Descriptive analysis was undertaken for the participants' characteristics. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to declare the nature of data distribution. To determine the role of socio-demographic characteristics on KAP, differences in socio-demographic status were compared with the KAP scores using the one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test with p < 0.05 as significant. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of each KAP domain (good and poor). Results: There was a significant positive correlation between level of education and KAP scores. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between employment and KAP scores. Knowledge score was a significant predictor of practice score (b = 1.261, p = 0.024), and attitude score was also a significant predictor of practice score (b = 0.183, p = 0.039). However, knowledge score was not a significant predictor of attitude score (b = 0.316, p = 0.247). Conclusions: The present findings provided an overall view of KAP on Zika virus infection among females in Philippines and the socio-demographic factors that affected their KAP. Women with postgraduate education and being in higher profession were the predictors influencing the KAP scores of this female population. Women with postgraduate education was the strongest predictor.
  9. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Fang Num KS, How Koh RC
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2017 06 25;18(6):1573-1579.
    PMID: 28669170
    Background: The objective of this study is to determine the influence of dental students’ knowledge and attitude
    regarding human papillomavirus infection of cervical cancer on willingness to pay for vaccination. Basic research
    design: A convenience sampling method was used. The minimal sample size of 136 was calculated using the Raosoft
    calculator with a 5 % margin of error and 95% confidence level. Participants: The study population were all final
    year dental students from the School of Dentistry. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure
    knowledge levels and attitudes regarding human papillomavirus vaccination. Contingent valuation was conducted
    for willingness to pay for vaccination. Main outcome measures: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has
    stated that human papillomavirus are associated with oropharynx cancer and the American Dental Association insist on
    expanding public awareness of the oncogenic potential of some HPV infections. Thus, as future dental practitioners,
    dental students should be aware of human papillomavirus and their links with cancer and the benefits of vaccination.
    Results: Knowledge on HPV and cervical cancer did not impact on attitudes towards vaccines. However, significant
    correlation existed between knowledge and willingness to pay for vaccination. Conclusions: Dental students’ knowledge
    on HPV and cervical cancer has no influence on their attitude towards HPV vaccines. However, their willingness to
    pay for HPV vaccination is influenced by their knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination.
  10. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Yeen SJ, Lew S
    Neuroepidemiology, 2017;48(3-4):131-137.
    PMID: 28728161 DOI: 10.1159/000479031
    AIM: This study focused on the impact of the clinical features on the quality of life (QoL) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and of their caregivers.

    METHODS: This study included PD patients along with their caregivers and was undertaken at the Malaysian Parkinson's Disease Association from June 2016 to November 2016. Clinical features of PD patients were assessed using the Movement Disorder Society revised Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale; the Hoehn and Yahr stage and the Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale were used to assess the severity and the ability of PD patients respectively. QoL of PD patients was measured using the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). The revised version of the Zarit Burden Interview assessed caregiver burden.

    RESULTS: At least one of the clinical features affected PD patients' QoL, and at least one of the QoL domains affected the caregivers' burden. Clinical features "saliva and drooling" and "dyskinesia" explained 29% of variance in QoL of PD patients. The QoL domains "stigma," along with "emotional well-being" explained 48.6% of variance in caregivers' burden.

    CONCLUSIONS: The clinical features "saliva and drooling" and "dyskinesia" impacted the QoL of PD patients, and the QoL domains "stigma" and "emotional well-being" of PD patients impacted their caregivers' burden.

  11. Al-Rudayni AHM, Gopinath D, Maharajan MK, Menon RK
    Transl Cancer Res, 2020 Apr;9(4):3126-3134.
    PMID: 35117676 DOI: 10.21037/tcr.2020.02.77
    Oral mucositis (OM) is one of the most prominent side effects of cancer treatment and is believed to have a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the affected patients. However, measurements for the investigation of OM is plagued by heterogeneity in symptoms that varies with the type of cancer or the treatment. We aimed to carry out a qualitative assessment of the current evidence on the impact of OM on QoL in patients undergoing oncologic treatment. A systematic search for studies evaluating the impact of OM on QoL was performed in MEDLINE and Embase databases from inception to December 2018 using the MeSH terms for the keywords "Antineoplastic", "Stomatitis", and "Quality of life". Studies were initially assessed based on the selection criteria and underwent a selection process based on the title and abstract followed by a full text review. Data extraction was performed into a standardized data collection form to collect data pertaining to the author/year, study design, study characteristics, mucositis assessment, QoL assessment and results. A qualitative assessment was performed. A total of 459 articles were selected after removal of duplicates. Following the full text review, only ten articles qualified for the systematic review based on the selection criteria. Several studies have identified a correlation between the severity of mucositis and reduction in QoL. The impact of OM on QoL extend beyond the local oral complications and has been shown to affect the physical, emotional, and psychological functional domains. However, heterogeneity in the study parameters and evaluation (cancer types, treatment regimens, chosen time points (during or after therapy) and the instruments used for QoL measurements) does not permit a robust assessment of the impact of OM on QoL. A standardized approach to the measurement of oral mucositis and evaluation of QoL is required to enhance the utility of QoL data in patients afflicted with oral mucositis following cancer treatment.
  12. Chong KM, Rajiah K, Chong D, Maharajan MK
    Front Med (Lausanne), 2022;9:884482.
    PMID: 35665362 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.884482
    INTRODUCTION: In supplying medicines to patients and consumers waste can occur in prescribing, dispensing, and leftover stages. Pharmacists in community pharmacies play a crucial role in dispensing and should share information on appropriate medicines disposal with consumers. This qualitative study explored how Malaysian community pharmacists manage medication wastage, returned medicines, and medicines disposal by eliciting their opinions on medicines wastage, the challenges faced, and feasibility of medicine return and safe medicine disposal in the setting of Malaysian community pharmacy.

    METHODS: Telephonic interviews were conducted using a pre-validated interview guide among community pharmacists. Purposive sampling was used to ensure heterogeneity of participants in terms of gender, age, and position in the pharmacy. The interview was conducted until a point where no new information was obtained. Interview data were thematically analyzed.

    RESULTS: The analysis identified nine themes organized into four domains. The results revealed that pharmacists have positive perceptions of the safe disposal of medicines. Pharmacists mentioned that medicine returns to service in community pharmacies are not common due to a lack of facilities in the management of unwanted, expired, and returned medicines. As such pharmacists have suggested a few ways to minimize medicinal wastage.

    CONCLUSIONS: Respondents aimed to minimize medicines wastage (unused medicines) in order to minimize loss of revenue. Respondents did not usually accept returned medicines due to the operational costs of safe disposal. Disposal of unused medicines was undertaken by centralizing the stocks at an organization facility before being disposed of by outsourced waste management companies.

  13. Aribi Al-Zoobaee FW, Yee Shen L, Veettil SK, Gopinath D, Maharajan MK, Menon RK
    PMID: 33265920 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17238891
    Cancer therapy may be complicated and compromised by viral infections, including oral herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. This network meta-analysis aimed to identify the best antiviral agent to prevent or treat oral HSV infection in patients being treated for cancer. A search was conducted for trials published since inception until the 10th of May 2020 in MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. A network meta-analysis was performed on the data from randomized controlled trials that assessed antiviral agents for preventive or therapeutic activity vs. placebo, no treatment or any other active intervention in patients being treated for cancer. The agents were ranked according to their effectiveness in the prevention of oral HSV using surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA). Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) was used to assess the certainty of the evidence. In total, 16 articles were included. The pooled relative risk (RR) to develop oral HSV infection in the acyclovir group was 0.17 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.30), compared to 0.22 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.77) in the valacyclovir group. Acyclovir ranked highest for the prevention of oral HSV followed by valacyclovir. Subgroup analysis with different acyclovir regimens revealed that the best regimens in terms of HSV-1 prevention were 750 mg/m2 acyclovir administered intravenously followed by 1600 mg per day orally. Acyclovir (250 mg/m2 per day) administered intravenously was the least effective against the prevention of oral HSV.
  14. Al-Rudayni AHM, Gopinath D, Maharajan MK, Veettil SK, Menon RK
    PMID: 34299869 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18147418
    Oral mucositis is a debilitating complication of chemotherapy, characterized by erythema, ulcers and oedema of the oral mucosa. This review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Photobiomodulation in the treatment of oral mucositis using meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis, and also to assess the quality of the results by Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). A comprehensive search of three databases, including Embase, Medline and Central, was performed to identify randomized controlled trials studying the efficacy of Photobiomodulation in the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. The primary outcome was reduction in the severity of oral mucositis. Secondary outcomes were pain relief, duration of oral mucositis and adverse effects. The meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model, and random errors of the meta-analyses were detected by trial sequential analysis. A total of 6 randomized controlled trials with 398 participants were included in our analysis. Photobiomodulation significantly reduced the severity of oral mucositis when compared to sham radiation (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.93; p < 0.05). Sensitivity analysis by excluding trials with high risk of bias reiterated the robustness of our results (RR 0.28, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.48). Trial sequential analysis illustrated that the evidence from the meta-analysis was conclusive. The result of the meta-analyses with trial sequential analysis illustrated that Photobiomodulation is an effective therapeutic intervention for the treatment of oral mucositis, and the evidence gathered can be considered conclusive with a moderate level of certainty according to GRADE. Further trials are recommended to standardize the laser parameters required for the optimal effect.
  15. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Binti Samsudin SZ, Tan CL, Tan Yen Pei A, Wong San Ying A
    Am J Infect Control, 2016 12 01;44(12):1720-1722.
    PMID: 27499193 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.05.019
    We studied the emergency preparedness and perceived response for Ebola virus disease among various health care providers in Malaysia using a self-report questionnaire. Most of the health care providers felt that they were able to respond to Ebola virus disease and were aware of the level of preparedness needed during emergency.
  16. Maharajan MK, Rajiah K, Tam AM, Chaw SL, Ang MJ, Yong MW
    PLoS One, 2017;12(4):e0176095.
    PMID: 28419167 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176095
    OBJECTIVE: To measure pharmacy students' anxiety towards research and how academic support, academic effort, attitude and self-efficacy influence their research anxiety.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduate final year students of pharmacy using a convenient sampling method. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used.

    RESULTS: Response rate for this study was 85.9% (128 students from a population of 149). The participants agreed that they read literature to understand research, but did not attend research-related coursework. Most participants (91.4%) felt that they were under stress while doing research. Almost all participants (97.6%) felt that they were doing very badly during their data analysis or they may fail their research projects. The majority of participants agreed that help from the lecturers' and friends in research give emotional support for their research activities.

    CONCLUSION: Academic support for pharmacy students, along with their additional academic effort will improve the students' self-efficacy and reduce research anxiety.

  17. Al-Rudayni AHM, Gopinath D, Maharajan MK, Veettil SK, Menon RK
    Curr Oncol, 2021 07 29;28(4):2852-2867.
    PMID: 34436016 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol28040250
    BACKGROUND: This review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of oral cryotherapy in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis using meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis, as well as to assess the quality of the results by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

    METHODS: A comprehensive search of three databases including Medline, Embase and Central was performed to identify randomized controlled trials that used oral cryotherapy for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. The primary outcome was the incidence of oral mucositis for trials employing oral cryotherapy as the intervention for the prevention of oral mucositis. The meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model and random errors of the meta-analyses were detected by trial sequential analysis.

    RESULTS: A total of 14 RCTs with 1577 participants were included in the present meta-analysis. Patients treated with oral cryotherapy were associated with a significantly lower risk of developing oral mucositis of any grade (risk ratio (RR), 0.67 (95% CI: 0.56-0.81, p < 0.05)). Findings from the subgroup analyses showed that oral cryotherapy significantly reduced the risk of oral mucositis in patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (RR 0.69, CI: 0.54-0.89, p < 0.05) as well as chemotherapy (RR 0.66, CI: 0.58-0.75, p < 0.05). Findings from the trial sequential analysis suggested that the evidence on oral cryotherapy as a preventive intervention for oral mucositis in patients with solid malignancies receiving conventional chemotherapy was conclusive.

    CONCLUSION: Oral cryotherapy is effective in preventing oral mucositis in patients undergoing chemotherapy for the management of solid malignancies. The use of oral cryotherapy in preventing oral mucositis in bone marrow transplantation settings showed promising efficacy, but the evidence is not conclusive and requires more high-quality randomized controlled trials.

  18. Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Chong D, Chiao Chien S, Li EOX
    BMJ Open, 2021 Dec 02;11(12):e050512.
    PMID: 34857566 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050512
    OBJECTIVES: To investigate pharmacy students' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, intentions and their behaviour towards patient safety using a theory of planned behaviour framework.

    DESIGN: Mixed-methods research.

    SETTING: Private university in Malaysia.

    PARTICIPANTS: Pharmacy undergraduate students participated in the study. There were 18 students participated in the qualitative study and 272 students responded to the survey questionnaire.

    METHODS: A convergent parallel-mixed method design, involving a quantitative survey and qualitative focus group discussions was used among pharmacy students in a private university in Malaysia. Qualitative data of transcribed verbatim texts were then subjected to a thematic content analysis framework. Multiple correlations were undertaken using the quantitative data to examine how the dependent variable (self-reported knowledge) related to the independent variables (attitudes, behavioural intentions, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control.

    PRIMARY OUTCOME: Pharmacy students' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, behavioural intentions constructs led to their behaviour towards patient safety.

    SECONDARY OUTCOME: The quantitative study revealed that there was a moderate positive correlation between students' self-reported knowledge and attitudes (r=0.48, p=0.03).

    RESULTS: Pharmacy students' attitudes and perceived behavioural control constructs had positive correlations with pharmacy students' self-reported knowledge on patient safety. There was no correlation between students' self-reported knowledge and subjective norms (r=0.27, p=0.23). There was a weak positive correlation between students' self-reported knowledge and perceived behavioural control (r=0.39, p=0.04). There was no correlation between students' self-reported knowledge and behavioural intention (r=0.20, p=0.56).

    CONCLUSIONS: Theory of planned behaviour constructs such as attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and behavioural intentions of pharmacy students, defined their behaviour towards patient safety. Pharmacy students' attitudes and perceived behavioural control constructs were correlated with their self-reported knowledge on patient safety.

  19. Koe KH, Veettil SK, Maharajan MK, Syeed MS, Nair AB, Gopinath D
    J Evid Based Dent Pract, 2023 Mar;23(1):101778.
    PMID: 36914303 DOI: 10.1016/j.jebdp.2022.101778
    OBJECTIVE: To compare the relative efficacy and safety of antiviral agents used in the prevention and management of herpes labialis through a network meta-analysis of clinical trials.

    METHODS: A systematic search was performed in Ovid Medline PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus and Clinicaltrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting a comparison of antiviral agents in the management and prevention of herpes labialis in healthy/immunocompetent adults. The data extracted from the selected RCTs were assessed and a network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed. The interventions were ranked according to the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA).

    RESULTS: A total of 52 articles were included for qualitative synthesis and for the quantitative part, 26 articles were analyzed for the primary treatment outcome and 7 studies were analyzed for the primary prevention outcome. The combination therapy of oral valacyclovir and topical clobetasol was the best ranked with a mean reduction in healing time of -3.50 (95% CI -5.22 to -1.78) followed by vidarabine monophosphate of -3.22 (95% CI -4.59 to -1.85). No significant inconsistencies, heterogeneity, and publication bias were reported for TTH outcome analysis. For primary prevention outcomes, only 7 RCTs fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and none of the interventions was shown to be superior to each other. The absence of adverse events was reported by 16 studies, whereas other studies reported mild side effects only.

    CONCLUSION: NMA highlighted that several agents were effective in the management of herpes labialis among which the combination of oral valacyclovir with topical clobetasol therapy was the most effective in reducing the time to heal. However, further studies are required to determine which intervention is the most effective in preventing the recurrence of herpes labialis.

Related Terms
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links