Evaluation of community pharmacists' knowledge, attitude and practice towards good pharmacy practice in Iran

The principles of pharmaceutical care are embedded in the concept of Good Pharmacy Practice [GPP]. GPP is poorly applied in community pharmacies not only in Asian countries, but even in United States and Europe. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community pharmacists in Iran, regarding GPP. A total of 794 pharmacists were evaluated with a reliable and validated KAP [Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice] questionnaire regarding GPP in September 2008. The most important finding in the present study was the pharmacists' low knowledge [Mean= 13.42] and practice [Mean= 29.85] level about GPP, while their attitude towards this subject was at a high level [Mean= 74.83]. Increase in their knowledge of good pharmacy practice aligned with an increase in their attitudes towards this issue. Also increase in our pharmacists' knowledge and attitude aligned with an increase in quality of their practice. The current practice of Iranian community pharmacists needs further improvement. National pharmaceutical organizations should organize educational programs for the community pharmacists to equip them for their main role in community practice: promoting rational drug use.

Knowledge, attitudes and practice of nurses regarding adverse drug reaction reporting

Adverse drug reactions [ADR] are ranked as some of the major causes of patient morbidity and mortality. Spontaneous reporting of ADRs has remained the cornerstone of pharmacovigilance and is important in maintaining patient safety. This study was conducted to assess the nurses' knowledge and attitude towards pharmacovigilance, reasons for not reporting ADRs, and their pharmacovigilance practice. A questionnaire was prepared to investigate knowledge, attitude and practice [KAP] of nurses regarding ADR reporting. In November 2009, the questionnaires were given to 500 nurses of a teaching hospital in Tehran. Knowledge and practice of participants were not satisfying; however, their attitude towards pharmacovigilance was at a high level. About 91% of the nurses had never reported an ADR. Most nurses liked to report the ADRs to the physicians [87.1%] and pharmacists in hospital's ADR center [1.8%] rather than the ADR National Center. The main cause of under-reporting of the suspected ADRs was unawareness about the existence of such a national center. Among nurses who had reported ADR for at least once, the majority preferred using phone [10 out of 50] or Yellow Cards [7 out of 50]. Only 1 person out of 50 preferred using internet for submitting the reports. Since the nurses in this study had little knowledge and poor practice regarding the pharmacovigilance and spontaneous reporting system, interventions such as holding pharmacovigilance workshops in the hospitals focusing on the aims of pharmacovigilance, completing the Yellow Card and clarifying the reporting criteria are strongly recommended.

Efficacy of generic granisetron vs kytril[registered] for PONV in major gynecological operations: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial

Background Granisetron is a first-generation 5-HT3-receptor antagonist that has shown efficacy in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting [PONV]. In this randomized double-blind parallel-group clinical trial, we assessed the efficacy of generic granisetron versus Kytril[registered], in the prevention of PONV in patients undergoing general anesthesia for gynaecological surgeries. Method One hundred and twenty patients who were supposed to undergo major gynaecological surgeries [myomectomy and hysterectomy] in Dr. Shariati Teaching Hospital, Tehran, Iran were randomly assigned to either single dose generic granisetron [40 mcg/kg], or Kytril[registered] [40 mcg/kg] at the end of the surgery. Two episodes of emetic symptoms [nausea and vomiting] were recorded by a gynaecologist who had no knowledge of which treatment each patient had received. This gynaecologist observed the patients at three different intervals: 6, 12 and 18 h post surgery. At the end of the observation period each patient evaluated the satisfaction with the study drug, and the gynaecologist evaluated sedation of the patients. Results In the generic granisetron group 47 and 13 patients, and in the Kytril[registered] group 45 and 15 patients underwent hysterectomy and myomectomy respectively. No difference was observed between two treatment groups regarding postoperative nausea and vomiting control during 18 hours after the drugs administration. Also there were no differences in the satisfaction with the study drug between the generic granisetron and Kytril[registered]. No difference in sedation scores was observed between two groups. Conclusion Generic granisetron exerts efficacy against PONV after gynaecological surgeries which is non-inferior to that of Kytril[registered]

Iranian pharmacists' knowledge, attitude and practice regarding counterfeit drugs

Background Awareness of pharmacists about counterfeit drugs is necessary for health improvement in community. The purpose of the present study is to assess the knowledge and measure the professional attitude and practice of Iranian pharmacist about counterfeit drugs. In August 2008, a knowledge, attitude and practice [KAP] study was performed in a national s sample of 794 pharmacists who participated in an Iranian Pharmacist Association congress. A questionnaire was prepared to collect Demographic and professional characteristics, Knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacists regarding counterfeit drugs. The mean percent of participants who answer each practice questions correctly is 13.62% and none of questions have more than 14.7% of correct answer, while the participants' attitude towards the subject is at high level. None of demographic factors represented a significant relationship with knowledge and the only related parameters with attitude, were age and gender. Increasing age of pharmacists resulted in attitude improvement [p = 0.013] and womems attitudes were better than men [p = 0.05].The only related parameters with practice, were the number of working hours per a week and attitude. Increasing the number of working hours per a week, resulted in decreasing the desirable practice [p = 0.041] and attitude also had a direct relationship with practice [p = 0.011]. Conclusion The most important finding in the present study was the pharmacists low knowledge and practice level about counterfeit drugs, while their attitude towards this subject was at a high level. The results point out the need for designing and implementing educational programs

Evaluation of knowledge and expectations of Dr. shariati Hospital health care professionals regarding the services of the Hospital's Drug and Poison Information Center

This study was conducted to clarify the expectations of the health care professionals [professors, residents, interns, nurses and head nurses] in Dr. shariati Hospital regarding the services of the Drug and Poison Information Center in this Hospital. Data was collected from a questionnaire which was distributed among 400 people in April 2009. Only 157 respondents fulfilled the questionnaire. So a return rate of 39% was achieved. According to the results, medical reference books and drug information textbooks [36.7%] and expert colleagues [29.7%] were the [most commonly] used drug information resources. 77.8% of respondents [almost never] use DPICs. According to the results, 77.5% of respondents were non- acquainted with these centers' activities. 44.4% of respondents included [adverse drug reactions] and 33.3% included [availability of drugs in pharmacy] in the blank space considered for them to mention any expectation [s] they rank as the most important. In addition, 74% of them rank [incompatibility of injectable drugs] and [70.1% rank] drug interactions [as the [extremely important] issues. Being non acquaintance with services of DPIC centers can be considered as the most important reason of not using them. Even after 13 years of opening of the first DPIC in IRAN, the health care professionals are not familiar with these centers' services and activities yet. It shows an urgent need for culture building activities to introduce them these centers services