ABSTRACT
Background: Acne vulgaris is a common dermatological disease affecting 85% of adolescents across the globe with 40% having persistent acne well into their twenties. Acne and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation often negatively impact self-perception, social interactions, and affect quality of life scores in adolescents. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the prescription pattern of drugs used in the treatment of acne to find out the current prescribing practices relating to comprehensive care being provided at a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional and observational study conducted after getting approval of Institutional Ethics Committee on 135 patients of either sex and age more than 12 and ?40 years diagnosed with acne. Results: Data of 135 prescriptions of acne patients were analyzed. Most patients presented with Grade 2 (n = 56; 41.5%) acne followed by Grade 3 acne (n = 40; 29.6%) patients. The average numbers of drugs per prescription was 3.87. Out of 522 drugs prescribed, 436 (83.5%) were topical and 86 (16.5%) were oral formulations. Among topical formulations, most frequently prescribed drug was tretinoin prescribed to 92 (68.1%) patients whereas, doxycycline was the most preferred oral antibiotic prescribed to 66 (48.9%) patients. Conclusion: The study revealed that drugs prescribed were found to be in accordance with the treatment guidelines proposed by Indian dermatologists and American Academy of Dermatology.
ABSTRACT
Background: Nurses play a key role in patients’ healthcare and drug administration. They are primary source of possible adverse drug reaction (ADR) alerts to clinician. At present, we have little data about awareness of pharmacovigilance (PhV) among nurses in India. Aim and Objective: Aim and objective of the study is to evaluate impact of educational interventions (EIs) on knowledge, attitude, and practice of hospital staff nurses working in medical and surgical wards. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective comparative study in two groups (EI and non-EI) among staff nurses working in medical and surgical wards of a tertiary care teaching hospital. One group of nurses working in medical wards were provided with various EIs while in non-EI group of nurses working in surgical wards no EI was provided. Respondents were asked to fill a pre-test questionnaire followed by interactive EIs in EI group and post-test questionnaire in both groups. Impact of EI among respondents was evaluated by correctness of response to questionnaire. Results: A total of (n = 200) respondents were enrolled in study. Number of staff nurses in each (EI and non-EI) group were (n = 100 [50%]). Overall, (n = 100 [50%]) were from the medical and (n = 100 [50%]) from surgical specialty. Post-EI period there was statistically significant improvement in knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) domains. Conclusion: Our study serves as reliable evidence that through EI; statistically significant improvement in KAP of staff nurses toward ADR reporting and PhV system can be achieved. This indicates that creating more awareness among healthcare professionals through EIs will help in promoting ADR reporting and this will improve the PhV system in India.