Health-care professionals' perceptions and expectations of pharmacists' role in the emergency department, United Arab Emirates.

The objective of this study was to assess health-care professionals' attitudes and perceptions towards the value of certain pharmacist functions in the emergency department (ED). The study was conducted among 396 physicians, nurses and other professionals in 4 government hospitals and 10 private hospitals in Dubai. While 83.6% of respondents reported that pharmacy services were available in the ED only 30.7% had a permanent clinical pharmacist working there. A majority (75.7%) agreed that the availability of clinical pharmacists in the ED would improve quality of care. On the role of clinical pharmacists in the medication review process, 45.0% of respondents favoured the review of only high-risk medication orders in the ED. The study found favourable views towards a role for clinical pharmacists in the ED for assuring appropriate medicine prescribing and administration, monitoring patient adherence, providing drug information consultation and monitoring patient responses and treatment outcome.

Campylobacter jejuni in acute diarrhoea in infancy and its relation to faecal leucocytic count.

A prospective study was carried out to identify the relative risk of Campylobacter jejuni infection in 50 infants with acute diarrhoea, 24 infants with acute resistant diarrhoea and 25 healthy normal infants as a matching control group. Faecal samples were collected from the three groups and were cultured on both selective media for Campylobacter and other media for isolation of other organisms. Direct stool smears, stained with methylene blue, were examined for detection of faecal leucocyte in all samples. Campylobacter jejuni were isolated from 4 cases (8.0%) of the acute diarrhoeal group and 4 cases (16.6%) of acute resistant diarrhoeal group. The other bacterial pathogens isolated from our cases were Salmonella, Shigella, E. Coli, Proteus mirabilis, Vibrio Parahaemolytious Klebsiella, Streptococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. All cases from whom Campylobacter was isolated were bottle fed and their ages were below 6 months. Smears for faecal leucocytes were positive in 100% of Campylobacter isolated cases, 60% of Salmonella, 50% of Shigella, 14% of E. Coli and 100% were negative in all other cases. Thus it can be recommended that any case presenting with acute diarrhoea should be initially screened by faecal leucocytic counting, positive cases should be cultured for Campylobacter jejuni detection in addition to cultures for other organisms detection.

Detection of enteropathogens in diarrhoeal diseases among malnourished Egyptian infant and children.

The influence of the Pre-existing malnutrition (PEM) on the severity of diarrhoea as well as the causative organisms was studied on 60 cases. The duration of diarrhoea was prolonged in cases with PEM. The stool purgative rate ranged from 4-15 times/day in PEM infant while it was 3-6 times in well nourished cases (WNC) (P less than 0.05). Also vomiting and dehydration was more marked among PEM cases (52.9% and 32.4% of cases than in WNC cases (31.3% and 12.5% of cases) (P less than 0.05). Rota virus and Candida albicans were the Commonest identified organisms in the stools of the PEM cases, they were detected in 52% and 38.2% of cases respectively while 25% of WNC had rota virus in their stool and non of them had Candida (P less than 0.02). Giardia lamblia was detected in 23.5% and 18.8% of PEM and WNC while 10% of healthy controls had Giardia. Other bacterial enteropathogen were also found less frequently including Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, Pseudomonas and Campylobacter. There was no statistical difference in the incidence between both groups. Multiple infections were detected in 47% and 18.7% of PEM cases and WNC (P less than 0.05) and correlated with the severity of illness.