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Introduction: Mobile health (mHealth) technology-based applications provide strong medical health-care support. Applications have an important impact as tools to improve the knowledge and support the health-care team practice. In this study, an over-the-counter (OTC) therapy application was developed based on Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). CDSS is a key to improve health-related decisions and healthcare delivery. Furthermore, the quality and effectiveness of this application were evaluated among community pharmacists. Methods: The application was designed and developed for 10 topics of OTC therapy. After the approval of the expert panel, 40 pharmacists affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) participated in this before and after quasi-experimental study. The related scenarios and checklists were designed for the ten topics. The participants had to manage the scenarios first by their knowledge and then with the application. The knowledge and pharmaceutical skills in OTC therapy were evaluated based on the obtained scores and the time recorded. The quality of the application was evaluated by pharmacists using user version of mobile application rating scale (uMARS) questionnaire. To compare before/after measurements of parametric and non-parametric data, we used the paired t-test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs test, respectively. Besides, the variables was compared using Mann-Whitney test. The statistical significance was considered at P<0.05. The analyses were performed using the statistical software Stata (ver. 13). Results: All scores after using the application increased, and the P-value was not significant. Also, the recorded time was increased after the use of the application, and the P-value was not significant. The minimum mean scores of the six uMARS questionnaire sections were 3. It means that acceptable scores were obtained in all sections of the questionnaire. The "App quality score" section of the application was reported 3.45±0.94. No relationship was found between gender and the median score of each section of the uMARS questionnaire. Conclusion: The OTC therapy application developed in this study will help Persian-speaking pharmacists to increase their knowledge and pharmaceutical skills.
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OBJECTIVE: Methamphetamine is the second most widely abused drug worldwide. We performed a study on the treatment outcome of acute methamphetamine intoxication in a referral tertiary care University hospital in Iran. METHODS: In this hospital-based, retrospective study which was carried out from 2012 to 2013, medical records of all patients aged 18 to 65 years who were admitted with a reliable history and clinical diagnosis of acute methamphetamine intoxication were abstracted and analyzed. Patients' data included gender, age, type and route of poisoning, clinical manifestations, duration of hospitalization, and the treatment outcome. ANOVA, Chi-square, and binary logistic regression statistical tests were used for data analysis. FINDINGS: A total of 129 patients with a mean age of 30.70 ± 0.93 (mean ± standard error), including 111 (86%) males, had been fully evaluated. Most of the patients had intentional poisoning (93.7%). In 42.6% of patients, inhalation was the main route of exposure. Most of the patients had complete improvement without any complication (89.1%). Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.05; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.006-1.099), suicide history (OR, 30.33; 95% CI 3.11-295.24), route of poisoning ([ingestion: OR, 0.21; 95% CI 0.05-0.87], [inhalation: OR, 0.19; 95% CI 0.04-0.78]), and pulmonary system manifestations (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.15-2.93) were predictive in patients outcome (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Methamphetamine poisoning was more common in males with intentional poisoning. Age, past history of suicide, route of poisoning, and pulmonary manifestations on admission could be considered as important predictive factors in patients' outcome.
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BACKGROUND: The most common drug abuse among athletes is anabolic steroids which lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases and sudden death. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate cardiovascular outcomes of anabolic consumption in body building athletes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Totally, 267 male athletes at the range of 20-45 years old with the regular consumption of anabolic steroids for >2 months with at least once weekly. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG), and hematocrit (Hct) levels were measured after 10 h of fasting. Data analysis was performed using K2, t-test, ANOVA and correlation coefficient through SPSS 17. RESULTS: There was a nonsignificant difference between groups regarding HDL, TG, and total cholesterol. There was a significant decrease in the total and categorized LDL and Hct levels in consumers of anabolic steroid versus nonusers (P = 0.01 and P = 0.041, respectively). Results showed a significant increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) in anabolic steroid users which associates with duration of abuse (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03, respectively). No significant electrocardiography changes were found within the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Increase in SBP or DBP is a common complication of these drugs which can lead serious vascular disorders. The lower LDL cholesterol level might be due to the higher amounts of lipid consumption in these athletes.
