ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: More people are turning to internet pharmacies to purchase their prescription medicines. This kind of purchase is associated with serious risks, including the risk of buying fake medicines, which are widely available on the internet. This underresearched issue has been highlighted by many newspaper articles in the past few years. Newspapers can play an important role in shaping public perceptions of the risks associated with purchasing prescription medicines on the internet. Thus, it is important to understand how the news media present this issue. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore newspaper coverage of the problem of purchasing fake prescription medicines on the internet. METHODS: Newspaper articles were retrieved from the ProQuest electronic database using search terms related to the topic of buying fake prescription medicines on the internet. The search was limited to articles published between April 2019 and March 2022 to retrieve relevant articles in this fast-developing field. Articles were included if they were published in English and focused on prescription medicines. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the articles, and the Theory of Planned Behavior framework was used as a conceptual lens to develop the coding of themes. RESULTS: A total of 106 articles were included and analyzed using thematic analysis. We identified 4 superordinate themes that represent newspaper coverage of the topic of buying prescription medicines on the internet. These themes are (1) the risks of purchasing medicines on the internet (eg, health risks and product quality concerns, financial risks, lack of accountability, risk of purchasing stolen medicines), (2) benefits that entice consumers to make the purchase (eg, convenience and quick purchase, lower cost, privacy of the purchase), (3) social influencing factors of the purchase (influencers, health care providers), and (4) facilitators of the purchase (eg, medicines shortages, pandemic disease such as COVID-19, social media, search engines, accessibility, low risk perception). CONCLUSIONS: This theory-based study explored the news media coverage of the problem of fake prescription medicines being purchased on the internet by highlighting the complexity of personal beliefs and the range of external circumstances that could influence people to make these purchases. Further research is needed in this area to identify the factors that lead people to buy prescription medicines on the internet. Identifying these factors could enable the development of interventions to dissuade people from purchasing medicines from unsafe sources on the internet, thus protecting consumers from unsafe or illegal medicines.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Many people in the United Kingdom are turning to the internet to obtain prescription-only medicines (POMs). This introduces substantial concerns for patient safety, particularly owing to the risk of buying fake medicines. To help reduce the risks to patient safety, it is important to understand why people buy POMs on the web in the first place. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify why people in the United Kingdom purchase medicines, specifically POMs, from the internet, and their perceptions of risks posed by the availability of fake medicines on the web. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with adults from the United Kingdom who had previously purchased medicines on the web. Purposive sampling was adopted using various methods to achieve diversity in participants' experiences and demographics. The recruitment was continued until data saturation was reached. Thematic analysis was employed, with the theory of planned behavior acting as a framework to develop the coding of themes. RESULTS: A total of 20 participants were interviewed. Participants had bought various types of POMs or medicines with the potential to be misused or that required a higher level of medical oversight (eg, antibiotics and controlled medicines). Participants demonstrated awareness of the presence and the risks of fake medicines available on the internet. The factors that influence participants' decision to buy medicines on the web were grouped into themes, including the advantages (avoiding long waiting times, bypassing gatekeepers, availability of medicines, lower costs, convenient process, and privacy), disadvantages (medicine safety concerns, medicine quality concerns, higher costs, web-based payment risks, lack of accountability, and engaging in an illegal behavior) of purchasing medicines on the web, social influencing factors (interactions with health care providers, other consumers' reviews and experiences, word of mouth by friends, and influencers' endorsement), barriers (general barriers and website-specific barriers) and facilitators (facilitators offered by the illegal sellers of medicines, facilitators offered by internet platforms, COVID-19 outbreak as a facilitating condition, and participants' personality) of the purchase, and factors that lead people to trust the web-based sellers of medicines (website features, product appearance, and past experience). CONCLUSIONS: In-depth insights into what drives people in the United Kingdom to buy medicines on the web could enable the development of effective and evidence-based public awareness campaigns that warn consumers about the risks of buying fake medicines from the internet. The findings enable researchers to design interventions to minimize the purchasing of POMs on the web. A limitation of this study is that although the interviews were in-depth and data saturation was reached, the findings may not be generalizable, as this was a qualitative study. However, the theory of planned behavior, which informed the analysis, has well-established guidelines for developing a questionnaire for a future quantitative study.
ABSTRACT
High erythrocyte sedimentation rate and D-dimer were also observed.15 The main pathogenesis of COVID-19 infection as a respiratory system targeting virus was severe pneumonia, RNA anaemia, combined with the incidence of ground-glass opacities, and acute cardiac injury. The comparable viral load in a group of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 was higher than that of the symptomatic carriers and increasing level of white blood cell count (12.4×109/L), neutrophil count (7.82×109/L), C-reactive protein level (189.2mg/L), low lymphocyte count (0.84×109/L) and platelet count (88×109/L) was found different than the normal range in asymptomatic patients.22 2.1 Clinical Evaluation of Asymptomatic Carriers: Many asymptomatic persons were actually a source of SARS-CoV-2 infection but were considered healthy before they underwent screening. CRP levels, LDH levels, and white blood cell counts were elevated occurred in 10, 13 and 1 patient, respectively.24 According to the study, asymptomatic infection was seldom seen in young people;the proportion with severe COVID-19 was low, and the proportion with ordinary COVID-19 was high. 2.3 Evaluation of Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Carriers: Table-1: Description of general characteristics responsible for evaluation of asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19. General characteristics Asymptomatic Carriers Symptomatic Carriers Normal range White blood cell count (× 10⁹ cells per L) 5.65 9.43 4.00–10.00 Neutrophil count (× 10⁹ cells per L) 3.62 8.21 1.80–6.30 Lymphocyte count (× 10⁹ cells per L) 1.55 0.69 1.10–3.20 C-reactive protein (mg/L) 0.69 202.03 0.0–5.0 3 Prophylactic Regimens for Prevention from Sars Cov-II Virus: This review aims to interrogate the current evidence base, and present the potential immune-mediating, antioxidant, and antimicrobial roles of vitamins A to E in the context of respiratory disease, and to extrapolate this evidence to evaluate the potential roles in the fight against COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection Attack mainly on the immune system of the body. The herbs like holy basil, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper are highly available, accessible and widely used in the kitchen and are convenient to educate and train about its use to community health workers, community and even to all public that they can have cost effective treatment with herbal home remedies. Zinc highly important for adequate T cell differentiation, and this observed is triggered by long-lasting changes in intracellular zinc levels due to induction of regulatory T cells (Treg) cells and dampening of pro-inflammatory Th17 and Th9 cells.5 * Zn Can Directly Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Replication: Using recombinant SARS-CoV nsp12, that Zn2+ directly inhibited the in vitro RdRp activity. Earlier, it was also shown that Zn2+ inhibited the proteolytic processing of replicase polyprotein.6 Increasing concentration of intracellular zinc inhibits the replication of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and other viruses.7 Viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) are suitable targets for novel antiviral drugs, since their activity is strictly virus-specific and may be blocked without severely affecting key cellular functions.
ABSTRACT
On 12th December 2019 pneumonia of unknown etiology was reported in a number of human cases from Wuhan, central China. On 11th February 2020 the WHO named the disease COVID-19 short for Coronavirus Disease 2019 . This COVID-19 out-break has grown substantially to that of pandemic nature currently. Close personal contact and respiratory droplets from sneezes and coughs of patients can disseminate SARS-CoV-2. The WHO continues to stress the usefulness of environmental cleaning and disinfection frequent hand hygiene respiratory etiquette. The WHO also suggests avoidance of close unprotected contact and maintenance of physical distance with people having fever or respiratory symptoms. To develop strategies for lowering transmission of COVID-19 development of ways for distinguishing the various modes of transmission such as urine and fecal samples is the need of the hour. Review: In a clinical scenario where possibility of vertical transmission of COVID-19 is increasingly being reported and transplacental transmission of the SARS-COV-2 cannot be ruled out, the medical fraternity requires more evidence on vertical transmission for better mother and newborn care. Conclusion: In order to study the vertical dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 the heath authorities should include additional examinations of maternal and newborn samples in standard treatment guidelines for pregnant women.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most educational institutions have opted for online education rather than traditional modes of education to protect their employees and students. Online education has been gaining momentum in almost all countries around the world. This coincides with the recently introduced competency-based medical education in India which has embraced online education. This poses a new challenge for the institutions involved, the instructors or teachers, and the students since they must adapt quickly to the new mode of learning. Online education requires teachers to improve their competency in three major areas; pedagogy, technology, and content knowledge. Some of the challenges include; lack of technological skill, poor time management and lack of infrastructure. As technology rapidly advances, health care education systems must also advance in tandem. To implement the new competency-based system and online education, the institutions and the individuals must realize the importance of online education, identify the barriers and quickly work on solutions for success. METHODS: This review was conducted based on various research papers on the topic of online medical education, the challenges faced by faculty members, and the opinion of students on this dilemma. Search terms included online medical education, COVID19, competency-based medical education. CONCLUSION: This review identified various challenges posed by online education on the current medical curriculum, faced by both faculty members and students, especially under the light of the Competency-Based Undergraduate Curriculum for Indian Graduates. Different solutions were proposed to overcome these challenges.