Anemia in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is usually associated with polycythemia. It is assumed that systemic inflammatory components of COPD can interfere with erythropoietin and can result in anemia of chronic disease which will impair the functional capacity of these patients and also increase morbidity and mortality. Objective: To evaluate anemia status in COPD patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in clinically stable 50 COPD patients in the outpatient department of Medicine in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka during the period of July to December 2011. The demographic characteristics, smoking habit, duration of disease, types and severity of anemia, BMI and results of 6-minute walk test were recorded. Results: Out of 50 COPD patients, 76% were male and 24% were female. Among them 32% patients were anemic, 20% were polycythemic and 48% patients had normal hemoglobin. Among the anemic patients with COPD, 87% were male and 13% were female,75% were mildly anemic and 4% moderately anemic, 62.5% had normocytic and 37.5% had microcytic anemia. Conclusion: Anemia in COPD patients is often overlooked and underestimated. Clinicians should be aware of the presence of anemia in patients with COPD so that appropriate treatment could be initiated to improve the quality of life and prognosis.

Disposal Practice for Unused Medications among the Students of the International Islamic University Malaysia.

This survey has lead to an enhanced international awareness of the potential detrimental effects on the environment. The main objective of this survey is to develop of public awareness about harmful effect of medications waste.This was a descriptive crosssectional survey involving with patients based on a structured questionnaire format with answer sets and asked why people do not use all of their medications; why they are keep unused medications, storage and how to dispose their medications. This study carried out at International Islamic University Malaysia (Health center Gombak campus, Selangor) and the medical college of the International Islamic University Malaysia (kuantan campus, Pahang). Although,87% of the respondents; they known about medications waste but only near about 2% of the respondents who are follow drug-take-back system because of above 93% of the respondents, they did not know about drug-take-back system. Most of the participants reported disposing of these in a manner that leads to their ending up in a landfill more than 65%. Finally, 83% of the respondents added to a disposal system ultimately ending up in a landfill. In this survey suggests that there is an urgent need to develop of public awareness and there is also need to develop dispensing policies & delivered to collection bag which deduction the volume of medication waste.