Evaluation of Over-the-Counter Medication Knowledge and Literacy in Adolescent Students.

OBJECTIVE: To 1) assess and compare knowledge and literacy of over-the-counter (OTC) medications among middle school (MS) and high school (HS) students, and 2) to assess student self-identified lack of knowledge regarding OTC medications. METHODS: A convenience sample of suburban adolescent students completed a 2-part survey about OTC medications: part 1 included demographics and baseline knowledge of OTCs, and part 2 included medication label interpretation (literacy). Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to summarize and compare responses among MS and HS students. RESULTS: Students (n = 309) were in MS (46.2%) and HS (53.8%), with a mean age of 14 ± 1.8 years, 61.4% male, 81.2% white, and 84.3% non-Hispanic. A majority of students (68.5%) agreed that they always speak with an adult before taking medication. Students responded correctly to 19% of brand versus generic knowledge questions; conversely, 65% selected "I don't know." Similar trends were seen for questions about medication indications (26% correct, 59% didn't know), side-effects (8% correct, 67% didn't know), and combining medications (21% correct, 63% didn't know). When students referenced a medication label, 55% answered label interpretation questions correctly and 30% reported "I don't know." HS students answered more questions correctly and were less likely to report "I don't know" to questions about common OTC medications (eg, ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc) compared with MS students (P < .05). DISCUSSION: Overall, baseline knowledge of OTC medications was low; however, students were better at interpretation of drug labels. MS students self-reported less knowledge about common OTC medications compared with HS students. This study provides an important foundation for future OTC medication educational programs for adolescents.

Review of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and a Proposed Scanning Protocol.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common peripheral compressive neuropathy. Ultrasonography (US) is an emerging technology that can be used in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. Although the cross-sectional area is the most studied and validated measurement for carpal tunnel syndrome, there is no standardized neuromuscular US scanning protocol. We review the most studied neuromuscular US characteristics and protocols in the evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome and propose a standardized protocol for evaluating carpal tunnel syndrome with neuromuscular US based on current literature.

Treatment Modalities and Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiatives in the Management of Intra-Abdominal Infections.

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) focus on improving the utilization of broad spectrum antibiotics to decrease the incidence of multidrug-resistant Gram positive and Gram negative pathogens. Hospital admission for both medical and surgical intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) commonly results in the empiric use of broad spectrum antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones, beta-lactam beta-lactamase inhibitors, and carbapenems that can select for resistant organisms. This review will discuss the management of uncomplicated and complicated IAIs as well as highlight stewardship initiatives focusing on the proper use of broad spectrum antibiotics.

Uncertainty in Population Estimates for Endangered Animals and Improving the Recovery Process.

United States recovery plans contain biological information for a species listed under the Endangered Species Act and specify recovery criteria to provide basis for species recovery. The objective of our study was to evaluate whether recovery plans provide uncertainty (e.g., variance) with estimates of population size. We reviewed all finalized recovery plans for listed terrestrial vertebrate species to record the following data: (1) if a current population size was given, (2) if a measure of uncertainty or variance was associated with current estimates of population size and (3) if population size was stipulated for recovery. We found that 59% of completed recovery plans specified a current population size, 14.5% specified a variance for the current population size estimate and 43% specified population size as a recovery criterion. More recent recovery plans reported more estimates of current population size, uncertainty and population size as a recovery criterion. Also, bird and mammal recovery plans reported more estimates of population size and uncertainty compared to reptiles and amphibians. We suggest the use of calculating minimum detectable differences to improve confidence when delisting endangered animals and we identified incentives for individuals to get involved in recovery planning to improve access to quantitative data.