ABSTRACT
Introduction : Globally healthcare systems are jeopardized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A fast and simple triage is very important for effec?ve u?liza?on of health care resources. We propose a new tool is for severity assessment of pa?ents at the ini?al point of care. Objec?ve: To propose a scoring method for fast triage of COVID 19 pa?ents in predic?ng the level of care required by the pa?ent Methods: The SCIP score is for pa?ents who have been tested posi?ve for COVID-19. This scoring system is useful to segregate the pa?ents into different level of care based on values of clinical parameters like Pulse rate (PR), Respiratory rate (RR) and arterial blood oxygen satura?on. The risk score ranges from 1 to 10. Lower the score more severe is the disease and hence more intense care is warranted. Result: Preliminary observa?on of SCIP scoring criteria is based on ten pa?ents. On retrospec?ve analysis it was observed that the level of care required by the pa?ents was in correspondence with the score obtained by the SCIP formula. Conclusion: SCIP scoring system is an easy and rapid tool which may be helpful in early detec?on of severity and taking fast decision in the ?me of crisis due to COVID 19. Valida?on in more number of pa?ents is required to establish the findings.
ABSTRACT
Background: Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder, one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality and needs lifelong treatment. There are large numbers of oral anti-diabetic drugs available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. There are numerous brands available for each of the individual oral anti-diabetic drug. Thus, a study was planned to find out cost variation among different brands of same active oral anti-diabetic drug.Methods: Cost of a particular drug being manufactured by different companies, in the same strength and dosage forms was obtained from the price list provided by the pharmaceutical companies in Current Index of Medical Specialities (CIMS) (October 2017- January 2018). The difference in the maximum and minimum price of the same drug manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies and percentage variation in price was analyzed.Results: Percentage cost variation of the commonly used drugs found was seen highest with Sulfonylureas (Glimepiride - 562%) followed by Metformin (492%) which was followed by Pioglitazone (488%), DPP-4 inhibitor Teneligliptin (231%), α- glucosidase inhibitors (Voglibose 284%), Meglitinides (Repaglinide 0.5mg 154%) and lowest was seen with Repaglinide 2mg (15%).Conclusions: There is very wide cost variation among different brands of the same oral anti-diabetic drugs manufactured in India. The average percentage cost variation of different brands of the same oral anti diabetic drugs manufactured in India is very wide. The appraisal and management of marketing drugs should be directed toward maximizing the benefits of therapy and minimizing negative personal and economic consequences.
ABSTRACT
Potassium (K+) is one of the most important ion present in the human body and involved in numerous physiological activities. It mainly affects heart and skeletal muscle but the effects are not confined to theses organs only. The article precisely focuses on the explaining the physiological as well as pathological aspects of potassium on cardiac tissue. This article tends to explain: The cause of difference in extra cellular and Intra cellular concentration of potassium when potassium channels are open in resting conditions, why are Purkinje fibers and ectopic tissue are more sensitive to effect of potassium, mechanisms responsible for increased action potential duration by hypokalemia and decreased action potential duration by hyperkalemia. Hypokalemia generates ectopic activities and hyperkalemia inhibits them, therapeutic effects of potassium administration without causing hyperkalemia. These issues will be discussed and try to be explained with the help of Ohm’s law , Nernst equation and Nernst potential to sort out the complicated actions of potassium on cardiac tissue in a simplified manner. The primary aim of article is to improve understanding of potassium physiology by medical graduates, secondarily, convey message regarding improvement in teaching methodology in Pharmacology for the benefit of new generations.