ABSTRACT
Background: Drugs that are dispensed against a valid prescription issued to a patient by a registered medical practitioner are known as 損rescription-only drugs�. In India, they have been regulated under schedule H, H1, G, and X of the Drugs and Rules (1945). The drugs which are not included in the list of 損rescription-only drugs� are considered to be over-the-counter drugs (OTC). There is no provision for an OTC drug schedule in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945, and these drugs have higher chances of misuse or abuse. This study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice among medical interns about OTC drugs in a tertiary care hospital in India.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted at Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, from March 2018 to September 2018. A pre-validated questionnaire consisting of 24 questions to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice was administered to 80 medical interns chosen by simple randomization, out of which 14 questions were related to knowledge, 6 related to attitude and 4 related to the practice. The participants were provided 30 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The data recorded were analyzed using Microsoft Excel.Results: There were some gaps in the knowledge, attitude and practice among the medical interns about OTC medications.Conclusions: There is a need for special emphasis on the MBBS curriculum about the use of OTC drugs.
ABSTRACT
Bullous pemphigoid is an acquired autoimmune disease characterized by subepidermal vesicles and bullae. The etiology is mostly idiopathic with the highest occurrence in elderly patients. However, it is now well-accepted that bp has been triggered by or associated with drug therapy. Over 50 agents have been implicated as a cause of Drug-induced bullous pemphigoid, including diuretics, ace inhibitors, and antibiotics. We present a case of Bullous pemphigoid in a 75 year old male probably induced by furosemide. A 75 year old male was admitted to the dermatology department of KIMS hospital, Bengaluru. Presented with multiple tense bullae and vesicles over both upper limbs, forearm and few collapsed bullae and vesicles over the extensor aspect of forearm. Patient had a past history of myocardial infarction and undergone coronary artery bypass grafting for the same and treated with multiple medications. Among the treatment given injection furosemide was the one of the drug, after which he developed lesions and also presented with fluid filled bullae. A diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid was made based on clinical history and was treated with prednisolone, halobetasol and antibiotics. The lesions improved significantly with the above management and patient recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital after 5 days. Severe and serious reactions such as bullous pemphigoid can be caused by used drugs like furosemide.