Availability of antidotes and key emergency drugs in tertiary care hospitals of Punjab and assessment of the knowledge of health care professionals in the management of poisoning cases

This study was conducted to evaluate the availability of antidotes / key emergency drugs in tertiary care hospitals of the Punjab province, and to assess the knowledge of health care professionals in the stocking and administration of antidotes in the proper management of poisoning cases. Seventeen [n=17] tertiary care hospitals of Punjab Pakistan were selected. Two performas [A and B] were designed for 26 antidotes / key emergency drugs and given to the hospital pharmacists and physicians respectively. It was observed that Activated Charcoal, being the universal antidote was found only in 6 hospitals [41%]. Digoxin Immune Fab, Edentate Calcium disodium and Glucagon were not available in emergency department of any hospital and even not included in the formulary of any hospital. About 80% pharmacists were aware of the method of preparation of Activated Charcoal and 85% physicians were familiar with its route of administration. Data showed that tertiary care hospitals of Punjab do not stock antidotes according to national drug policy. Moreover the study strongly suggests the development of health care centers and professional by organizing antidote awareness programs, continuous education and record keeping of poisonous cases and availability of emergency drugs around the clock

Preparation and in vitro evaluation of Nystatin micro emulsion based gel

Nystatin is a polyene antimycotic obtained from Streptomyces noursei used in the treatment of topical and transdermal fungal infection. Nystatin is nearly insoluble in water [<0.1] and it is amphoteric in nature. The aim of the present study was to design and develop Nystatin micro emulsion based gel for efficient delivery of drug to the skin by water titration method. The Pseudoternary phase diagrams 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1 were constructed by water titration method. Micro emulsion based gel was prepared by using oleic acid, Tween 20, propylene glycol as an oil phase, surfactant and cosurfactant respectively. Cabopol 940 was used as a gelling agent. In vitro evaluation of micro emulsion based gel was done for pH, Viscosity, spreadability and droplet size. Micro emulsion based gel showed greater antifungal activity against Candida albicansas compared to control formulations. In vitro drug release studies were conducted for micro emulsion based gel and control formulation using Franz diffusion cell. Drug penetration through synthetic skin followed Zero order model as the values for R[2] higher in case of zero order equation. The optimized micro emulsion based gel was found to be stable and showed no physical changes when exposed to different temperatures for a period of 4 week. The results indicated that the micro emulsion based gel system studied would be a promising tool for enhancing the percutaneous delivery of Nystatin