Awareness of issues related to torture among medical students in Mauritius.

Torture in custody is a global problem. Many declarations and conventions by different agencies throughout the world have sought to address this issue. Health professionals are required to detect, treat, and rehabilitate victims of torture. In the last few years, medical personnel have emphasised their stand against the practice of torture. We surveyed 155 second- and third-year medical graduates in Mauritius to assess their knowledge of and attitudes towards torture. A majority of the students have a basic awareness and would like to learn more about torture as a human rights issue. However, more than 37 per cent of students were in favour of beating in custody. Torture could be reduced if the medical profession maintains high standards of practice and ethics. Medical education for the prevention of torture should be included in the undergraduate medical curriculum.

Contribution of the regional drug information center towards drug safety.

Drug related complications may lead to huge economic impact and cause significant morbidity and mortality. The present study analyzed the services provided by our Drug Information Center (DIC) in relation to drug safety. Over a period of one year, the DIC received 336 drug related queries. Among these 127 queries were related to drug safety. Medical doctors asked 78% of queries and patient care was the purpose behind 64.6% of them. Half (50%) of the enquirers submitted their queries to the center personally or contacted the DIC staff. Forty one percentage of the queries were related to the causality of particular drug towards adverse drug reactions and 10 % regarding drug use in pregnancy and lactation. Centrally acting drugs accounted for 21% of the queries. Twenty two percentage of the enquirers required an immediate answer. DICs by providing unbiased and objective information can reduce the occurrences of drug related complications.