Implementation Status and Challenges Associated With Implementation of the Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices in a Tertiary Hospital.

Background The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is a well-known non-profit organization dedicated to preventing medication errors. Every two years they publish best practices that can reduce the occurrence of medication errors. This study aims to evaluate the implementation status of these best practices and to understand barriers associated with non-implementation at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methodology This was a two-phase qualitative study. First, a survey consisting of the ISMP best practices was sent to employees (mainly heads of departments) to fill out the implementation rate for each best practice. Then an interview or a focus group was conducted to further validate their answers and understand why some best practices were not implemented. Results Our study found that the highest implemented best practices were having strategies to improve safety with high-alert medications (best practice #19, 85.7%), having antidotes and reversal agents readily available (best practice #9, 75%), independent verification of sterile preparation (best practice #11, 75%), and limiting the number of removable medications from the automated dispensing unit by override (best practice #16, 75%). The least implemented best practices were ensuring that oral liquid medications are dispensed in a syringe (best practice #4, 12.5%), maximizing use of barcode verification (best practice #18, 12.5%), purchasing oral liquid dosing devices that display metric scale (best practice #5, 25%), eliminating glacial acetic acid from all areas of the hospital (best practice #6, 28.6%), and eliminating all 1,000 mL of sterile water from all areas outside of the pharmacy (best practice #10, 28.6%). Challenges associated with implementation were related to knowledge, motivation, and opportunity in the environment, with the latter being the highest barrier associated with non-implementation. Conclusions Healthcare providers need to have knowledge about the best practices and the rationale behind them, the motivation to perform them, and the necessary resources to implement the best practices in their hospital.

Citrus reticulata Leaves Essential Oil as an Antiaging Agent: A Comparative Study between Different Cultivars and Correlation with Their Chemical Compositions.

The mass-based metabolomic approach was implemented using GC-MS coupled with chemometric analysis to discriminate between the essential oil compositions of six cultivars of Citrus reticulata. The antiaging capability of the essential oils were investigated through measurement of their ability to inhibit the major enzymes hyaluronidase, collagenase, and amylase involved in aging. GC-MS analysis resulted in the identification of thirty-nine compounds including ß-pinene, d-limonene, γ-terpinene, linalool, and dimethyl anthranilate as the main components. Multivariate analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchal cluster analysis (HCA) successfully discriminated the cultivars into five main groups. In vitro antiaging activity showed that Kishu mandarin (Km) (2.19 ± 0.10, 465.9 ± 23.7, 0.31 ± 0.01 µg/mL), Cara mandarin (Cm) (3.22 ± 0.14, 592.1 ± 30.1, 0.66 ± 0.03 µg/mL), and Wm (8.43 ± 0.38, 695.2 ± 35.4, 0.79 ± 0.04%) had the highest inhibitory activity against hyaluronidase, collagenase, and amylase, respectively. Molecular docking studies on the major compounds validated the activities of the essential oils and suggested their possible mechanisms of action. Based on our result, certain cultivars of Citrus reticulata can be proposed as a promising candidate in antiaging skin care products.

The Contraindications to Combined Oral Contraceptives among Reproductive-Aged Women in an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic: A Single-Centre Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to determine the estimated proportion of contraindications among women taking combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and to assess the risk factors associated with their contraindications. This study was cross-sectional. Reproductive-aged women (18-49 years) on any COCs between 2018 and 2020 were recruited from one obstetrics-gynaecology clinic in a university-affiliated hospital and were included. Contraindications were defined using the World Health Organization (WHO) Medical Eligibility Criteria (MEC) for Contraceptive Use. Data were collected from electronic medical records for all included women, as well as a standardised, pretested, structured survey for one-third of the women. In this cross-sectional study, 380 women using COCs were included. Their mean age was 31.645 ± 7.366 years. Among them, 131 (34.5%) participated via a survey and electronic records, while the other 249 (65.5%) participated via electronic records only. The majority of the participants had a Bachelor's degree (59.0%) and were married (62.1%). The overall estimated proportion of patients with at least one contraindication to COCs according to category 3 (relative contraindications) or 4 (absolute contraindications) was 31.3% (95% CI 26.63-35.99). The most common contraindications observed were controlled hypertension, category 3 (12.1%); major surgery with prolonged immobilisation, category 4 (4.7%); migraine with aura at any age, category 4 (4.2%); breastfeeding from six weeks to less than six months postpartum, category 3 (4.0%); and diabetes mellitus with complications, category 4 (3.2%). Significant factors associated with contraindications to COCs were married women (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.38-3.46), those aged 35 years or more (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.49-3.66), and those with one or more live births (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.38-3.46). Ensuring proper assessment prior to prescribing and considering alternatives suitable for long-term use among women taking an oral contraceptive regularly is recommended.

Prescriber behaviours that could be targeted for change: An analysis of behaviours demonstrated during prescription writing in children.

BACKGROUND: The prescribing process for children with cancer is complex, and errors can occur at any step. As a result, many interventions have been used to reduce errors. However, few of them have been designed based on an understanding of the prescriber behaviour that can lead to errors. In order to design effective behaviour change interventions, it is important first to understand the prescribing process and identify prescriber behaviours that could be targeted for change. OBJECTIVES: To describe the prescribing process in a paediatric oncology ward and to identify prescriber behaviours during prescription writing that could be targeted to reduce errors. METHODS: This study employed two sequential phases. First, the prescribing process was observed and then described using the hierarchical task analysis (HTA) method. Second, prescriber tasks identified from the HTA were analysed using the behaviour change wheel (BCW) approach to identify promising behaviours for change. These identified behaviours were prioritised based on information collected from four focus groups with prescribers and chart review of errors made in the ward. RESULTS: The prescribing process was complex and involved multiple tasks performed in varying orders. Applying the BCW identified thirty-two candidate behaviours for potentially reducing prescribing errors. However, after prioritization, only two emerged as promising candidate behaviours for intervention: writing drug indications at the time of prescribing and using a pre-written order when ordering medications through electronic prescribing. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that two behaviours could be promising in reducing errors. Having identified these behaviours, future work could explore what needs to change with respect to individuals and their work environments to achieve the desired change in these identified behaviours.

2-Methoxy-estradiol Loaded Alpha Lipoic Acid Nanoparticles Augment Cytotoxicity in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

The therapeutic effectiveness of anticancer drugs with a selective target for the nucleus of cancer cells may be improved by experimental approaches. In this regard, the formulation of anticancer drugs is considered one of the best ways to improve their effectiveness in targeting cancerous tissues. To enhance the anticancer activity of 2-methoxy-estradiol (2 ME) for breast cancer, 2-methoxyestradiol loaded alpha lipoic acid nanoparticles have been formulated. The prepared formula was observed to be spherical with a nanometer-scale and low PDI size (.234). The entrapment efficiency of the 2ME-ALA NPs was 87.32 ± 2.21% with > 85% release of 2 ME within 24 h. There was a 1.2-fold increase in apoptosis and a 3.46-fold increase in necrosis of the MCF-7 cells when incubated with 2ME-ALA NPs when compared to control cells. This increased apoptosis was also associated with increased ROS and increased p53 expression in 2ME-ALA NPs treated cells compared to the raw-2 ME group. Evaluation of cell-cycle data showed a substantial arrest of the G2-M phase of the MCF-7 cells when incubated with 2ME-ALA NPs. At the same time, a dramatically increased number of pre-G1 cells showed the increased apoptotic potential of the 2 ME when administered via the proposed formulation. In the end, the differential upregulation of caspase-3, p53, and ROS in MCF-7 cells established the superiority of the 2ME-ALA-Ms approach in targeting breast cancer. In summary, these results demonstrate that 2ME-ALA NPs are an efficient delivery tool for controlling the growth of breast cancer cells.

Understanding the causes of prescribing errors from a behavioural perspective.

INTRODUCTION: While many attempts have been made to reduce prescribing errors (PEs), they persist. PE is not in itself a behaviour, but a consequence of a prescribing behaviour. Interventions aimed at prescribers should focus on understanding prescribers' behaviours. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to use the capability, opportunity, motivation - behaviour (COM-B) model to explore the behaviours that could have caused PEs made by senior doctors in a speciality paediatric inpatient ward. METHODS: A qualitative approach was used to investigate prescribers' behaviours in a 26-bed paediatric oncology ward. Error data were collected over a two-month period and were presented during focus groups with prescribers, which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to identify contributory factors to errors, which was used to identify sources of behaviours using the COM-B model. RESULTS: Behaviours related to prescribers' capabilities were: prescribers' improper use of the software because of insufficient skills, and prescribers' inability to prescribe correctly because of lack of knowledge. Behaviours related to opportunities in the environment were: prescribers' inability to make an informed decision because of poor access to patient information, inability to properly complete a task because of heavy workload and interruption, and having to re-check doses frequently because of frequent change in patients' weight and surface area. Those related to motivation were: prescribers unquestioningly following recommendations and not communicating with other specialists because they over-trusted them or feared a negative reaction, and prescribers inability to complete a task because of other competing and preferable tasks at the same time. CONCLUSION: Employing COM-B helped in identifying causes of PEs from a new perspective. Future work could focus on mapping identified sources of behaviour and errors against appropriate intervention functions and policies in order to design more successful interventions.