Formulation development and in vitro characterization of triple layer tablet containing amlodipine besylate, rosuvastatin calcium and hydrochlorothiazide.

Triple layered tablet having various excipients and a new combination of APIs i.e. amlodipine besylate, rosuvastatin calcium and hydrochlorothiazide was prepared through wet granulation. The concentration of disintegrant and diluent was kept different in formulations of all APIs. At compression stage, nine different formulations from H1 to H9 having different combinations were prepared. Layers T1, T2 and T3 of all the three APIs had disintegrant concentration of 3%, 5% and 7 % respectively. In vitro analysis of granules was made by determining angle of repose, loss on drying, bulk density, tapped density, hausner ratio. Results of all these parameters were quite similar in all layers, which showed that change in disintegrant concentration does not affect the flow ability of granules to much extent. After compression, tablets were further subjected to weight variation, hardness, thickness, friability, disintegration, dissolution studies and FTIR. In vitro drug release data of all formulations were studied which showed that all the formulations exhibited zero order release. Results indicated that H8 had the best results in terms of physicochemical properties, assay and dissolution studies. The external morphology of formulations were further analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Triple layered tablet was successfully developed and characterized.

Knowledge, attitude and preventive practices related to COVID-19 among health professionals of Punjab province of Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION: Considering health professionals among high-risk individuals, we aimed to evaluate their knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the health professionals (medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, hospital technicians and technologists) providing services at seven hospitals of Punjab province of Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practices regarding COVID-19. RESULTS: All of the participants (N = 429) reported that they were aware of COVID-19 and social media was the major source (65%) of this information. Mean knowledge score was 12 ± 2.1, with 75.5% of participants having satisfactory knowledge. Doctors were found to have significantly better knowledge scores than the other health professionals (p = 0.001). Mean attitude score was 8.0 ± 1.2, with a wide majority of health professionals (86.5%) having positive attitudes. Regarding preventive practices, around 64% reported of always covering nose and mouth with a tissue paper during sneezing or coughing and nearly 65% disposed of the dirty tissue paper in trash bin. Only 40% of the participants reported that 'if they do not have tissue, they cough or sneeze into upper sleeves'. Around 45% reported that they used face mask during their working hours in hospitals nowadays. Mean practice score was 23.3 ± 3.6, with 73.4% of health professionals having satisfactory practices. CONCLUSIONS: The overall COVID-19 related KAP of Pakistani health professionals are satisfactory, however some misperceptions and malpractices uncovered in the present study must be addressed to effectively combat COVID-19.

Knowledge, attitude and preventive practices related to COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in two Pakistani university populations.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices of two Pakistani university populations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students and employees of two higher education institutions in Lahore, Pakistan, namely the University of Lahore and the Gulab Devi Educational Complex. Participants were recruited using a convenient sampling method. A validated 45-item, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Total possible scores were 0-14 for knowledge (scores < 7, 7-10 and > 10 were considered to indicate poor, moderate and good knowledge, respectively); 0-7 for attitude (scores > 5 were considered to indicate a good attitude); and 0-18 for COVID-19 preventative practices (scores > 12 were considered to indicate good preventative practices). RESULTS: Of the 417 enrolled participants, 416 reported that they were aware of COVID-19 and social media was the major source of their information. Mean scores were 10.12 ± 2.20 for knowledge (good, moderate and poor knowledge in 50.2%, 42.8% and 7.0% of participants, respectively); 5.74 ± 1.28 for attitude (65.4% of individuals had a positive attitude); and 11.04 ± 3.34 for COVID-19 preventative practices (only 36.5% of participants had good preventive practices). CONCLUSION: Pakistani university students and employees have good knowledge and attitudes regarding COVID-19, but unsatisfactory preventive practices. Therefore, health regulators should use multiple communication approaches, such as electronic, print and social media, phone messages, etc., to increase awareness and improve practices related to COVID-19.