Communicating the Gynecologic Brachytherapy Experience (CoGBE): Clinician perceived benefits of a graphic narrative discussion guide.

PURPOSE: Many current radiotherapy patient education materials are not patient-centered. An interprofessional team developed Communicating the Gynecologic Brachytherapy Experience (CoGBE), a graphic narrative discussion guide for cylinder, intracavitary, and interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) gynecologic brachytherapy. This study assesses perceived clinical benefits, usability, and anxiety-reduction of CoGBE. METHODS AND MATERIALS: An electronic survey was sent to members of the American Brachytherapy Society. Participants were assigned to assess one of the three modality-specific CoGBE versions using a modified Systems Usability Scale (SUS), modified state-trait anxiety index (mSTAI), and Likert-type questions. Free response data was analyzed using modified grounded theory. RESULTS: Median modified SUS score was 76.3 (interquartile range [IQR], 71.3-82.5) and there were no significant differences between guide types. Median mSTAI was 40 (IQR, 40-43.3) for all guides collectively. The cylinder guide had a significantly higher median mSTAI than the intracavitary and interstitial guides (41.6 vs. 40.0 and 40.0; p = 0.04) suggesting the cylinder guide may have less impact on reducing anxiety. Most respondents reported that CoGBE was helpful (72%), would improve patient understanding (77%) and consultation memorability (82%), and was at least moderately likely to be incorporated into their practice (80%). Qualitative analysis themes included personalization and relatability (positive); generalizability (negative); illustrations (both). CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians rate CoGBE as usable with potential to reduce patient anxiety, especially with more invasive treatment modalities including intracavitary or interstitial high-dose-rate. CoGBE has the potential to improve patient-clinician communication for a wider range of patients due to its accessible, adaptable, and patient-centered design.

Stimuli sensitive hydrogels for ophthalmic drug delivery: A review.

Amongst the various routes of drug delivery, the field of ocular drug delivery is one of the most interesting and challenging endeavors facing the pharmaceutical scientist for past 10-20 years. As an isolated organ, eye is very difficult to study from a drug delivery point of view. Despite this limitation, improvements have been made with the objective of maintaining the drug in the biophase for an extended period. A major problem in ocular therapeutics is the attainment of an optimal drug concentration at the site of action. To achieve effective ophthalmic therapy, an adequate amount of active ingredient must be delivered and maintained within the eye. The most frequently used dosage forms, i.e., eye solution, eye ointments, eye gels, and eye suspensions are compromised in their effectiveness by several limitations leading to poor ocular bioavailability. Ophthalmic use of viscosity-enhancing agents, penetration enhancers, cyclodextrins, prodrug approaches, and ocular inserts, and the ready existing drug carrier systems along with their application to ophthalmic drug delivery are common to improve ocular bioavailability. Amongst these hydrogel (stimuli sensitive) systems are important, which undergo reversible volume and/or sol-gel phase transitions in response to physiological (temperature, pH and present of ions in organism fluids, enzyme substrate) or other external (electric current, light) stimuli. They help to increase in precorneal residence time of drug to a sufficient extent that an ocularly delivered drug can exhibit its maximum biological action. The concept of this innovative ophthalmic delivery approach is to decrease the systemic side effects and to create a more pronounced effect with lower doses of the drug. The present article describes the advantages and use stimuli sensitive of hydrogel systems in ophthalmic drug delivery.

Spectrophotometric estimation of tamsulosin hydrochloride by acid-dye method.

A new spectrophotometric method for the estimation of tamsulosin hydrochloride in pharmaceutical dosage forms has been developed and validated. The method is based on reaction between drug and bromophenol blue and complex was measured at 421 nm. The slope, intercept and correlation coefficient was found to be 0.054, -0.020 and 0.999, respectively. Method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, range, precision and accuracy. The developed method can be used to determine drug in both tablet and capsule formulations. Reaction was optimized using three parameters i.e., concentration of the dye, pH of the buffer, volume of the buffer and shaking time. Maximum stability of the chromophore was achieved by using pH 2 and 2 ml volume of buffer. Shaking time kept was 2 min and concentration of the dye used was 2 ml of 0.05% w/v solution. Method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, range, accuracy, LOD and LOQ and stochiometry of the method was also established using Mole ratio and Job's method of continuous variation. The dye benzonoid form (blue color) of dye ionized into quinonoid form (purple color) in presence of buffer and reacts with protonated form of drug in 1:1 ratio and forms an ion-pair complex (yellow color).

Stability indicating reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography method for the estimation of capsaicin.

BACKGROUND: Stability Indicating Method (SIM) is a quantitative analytical procedure used to detect a decrease in the amount of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) present due to degradation. According to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, an SIM is defined as a validated analytical procedure that accurately and precisely measures active ingredients (drug substance or drug product) free from potential interferences, such as degradation products, process impurities, excipients, or other potential impurities, and the FDA recommends that all assay procedures for stability studies be stability indicating. Here in this study we developed simple precise and accurate stability indicating reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) assay to analyze capsaicin (CAP) at concentrations from 70 to 130 µg/mL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HPLC equipped with Photo diode Array (PDA) detector, Pump model 600E of Waters and Empower software. Column used for the separation is ODS (250 × 4.6 mm) with particle size 5 µm and all the reagents and water were of HPLC grade. RESULTS: The chromatographic separation was carried out using mobile phase Acetonitrile (ACN):water:buffer::75:10:15 with a flow rate of 1 mL/min on a C18 column. The concentration of the eluting compounds was monitored by a UV detector at 280 nm. No interferences were observed when stress conditions were applied and analyzed. Linearity was established using visual method, residuals plot, Dixon, and lack of fitness test. Limit of detection and limit of quantification was found to be 52.9 and 160 ng/mL, respectively. Recovery studies prove this method as useful in recovering the analytes. Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of inter- and intraday precision within the acceptable limit of 2% proves that this method is precise. No degradation was found with alkaline conditions, thermal and photodegradation. CONCLUSIONS: This study can be used for successful separation of CAP and its potential degradants in bulk and formulations. UV spectra of one of the degradants are also presented here and can be the basis to generate chemistry of potential degradants when CAP is kept under environmental conditions.

Individual differences in hemispheric preference and emotion regulation difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Hemisphericity or individual difference in the preference to use the left or the right hemispheric mode of information processing has been associated with various emotion-related differences. For example, the right hemisphericity has been linked with inhibition of emotional expression, feeling of tension, greater impulsivity etc. These observations suggest that right hemisphericity may be associated with greater difficulties in regulating emotions. However, direct empirical tests of such theoretical proposition are very thin. AIM: In view of this, the present study aims to investigate how and to what extent individual difference in hemispheric preference relate to emotion regulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two right-handed male subjects in the age range 18 to 20 years were assessed on self-report measures of hemispheric preference and emotion regulation difficulties. The correlation between dimensions of hemispheric preference and difficulties in regulating emotions was computed. A series of stepwise multiple regression analyses were also done to explore the relative significance of various dimensions of hemispheric preference in predicting emotion regulation difficulties. RESULTS: The findings revealed that in general a preference for the right hemispheric mode of information processing was associated with greater emotion regulation difficulties. The correlation analysis indicated that while impulse control difficulties and difficulties in engaging goal directed behavior was associated with preference for almost all the right hemispheric mode of information processing, the nonacceptance of emotional responses and limited access to emotion regulation was related to preference for only global/synthetic (a right hemispheric) mode of information processing. Similarly, the lack of emotional clarity facet of emotion regulation difficulties correlated significantly with a preference for the emotional mode of information processing (again a right hemispheric mode). The results of stepwise multiple regression analyses, however, indicated that "nonacceptance of emotional responses' and 'limited access to emotion regulation strategies" facets of emotion regulation difficulties were best predicted by a preference for the global/synthetic mode of information processing. While others like difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviour, impulse control difficulties, and lack of emotional clarity were best predicted by a preference for visuo-spatial rather than the verbal mode of information processing. CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings imply that greater preference for right hemispheric mode of information processing as compared to the left is associated with greater difficulties in regulating emotions.