Background: One way to target polypharmacy and inappropriate medication in hemodialysis (HD) patients is with medication deprescribing. Objective: To assess the impact of implementing a pharmacist-led deprescribing program on medication adherence among HD patients. Method: A prospective interventional, one-group pretest-posttest-only design study was conducted at a hemodialysis center in Wasit Governorate, Iraq. Medication reconciliation followed by medication review based on the deprescribing program was done for all eligible patients, and the patients were monitored for three months for any possible complications. Results: Two hundred and seventy patients were screened for eligibility. Only one hundred and eighteen were enrolled in the deprescribing program. The median age was 51.5 years, 56.8% were males, and hypertension was the most common etiology for their chronic kidney disease (CKD); 78% had comorbidities. After deprescription, there was a significant reduction in the number of medications from 6.0 to 4.0 and a reduction in the number of pills from 7.0 to 5.0. Medication adherence accessed using the Arabic version of Morisky, Green, and Levine’s (MGL) adherence scale also had a significant reduction from 2.0 to 1.0. Conclusion: A pharmacist-led deprescribing program is a successful strategy for decreasing the number of medications and daily pills prescribed while simultaneously improving hemodialysis patients' adherence to their regimens without compromising the patient’s safety.
Background: Radioactive iodine-131 therapy is highly effective in treating patients with hyperthyroidism. An ablative dose is preferred by a number of endocrinologists, and, a fixed dose protocol seems to be better than a calculated dose in real practice.
Objective: To check for hypothyroidism in hyperthyroid patients one year after RAI therapy, comparing between the results of high ablative versus usual dosages of RAI-131.
Methods: This study included 174 hyperthyroid patients, 101 males and 73 females, divided into 2 groups, the first consisted of 162 patients given a usual fixed dose of RAI while the second consisted of 12 patients given a high fixed ablati
... Show MoreBackground: The skin functions as a barrier to the external environment, damage to this barrier following a burn disrupts the innate immune system and increases susceptibility to bacterial infection. Objective: This study was carried out to determine the bacterial isolates and study their antimicrobial susceptibility in burned wound infections at one burn's hospital in Baghdad.Type of study:Cross-sectional study.Methods: The bacteria were identified at species level by using Analytic Profile Index (API) system and The antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to Kirby-Bauer (disk diffusion) technique.Results: Over a period of one year (from October 2014 to October 2015). Out of 848 patients with different degrees of burns
... Show MoreExogenous levothyroxine dose modulation and euthyroidism achievement is a persistent challenge in clinical settings. This study strives to assess the adequacy of treatment and identify the patients’ factors that can be used to estimate the euthyroid levothyroxine dose. A secondary objective was to assess vitamin D supplementation impact on thyroid status.
A review of a prospectively collected information from 142 female patients from Baghdad Center of Nuclear Medicine from June 2019 until March 2020 who were receiving levothyroxine for different causes was done. After a follow-up period, the patients’ thyroid tests were assessed and the euthyroid doses for each cause category were statistically analyzed. Thyroid function was
... Show MoreThe Growth Differentiation Factor -15 (GDF-15) is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily. İt represents an example of the stress response cytokines. It's mostly found in cardiac myocytes, adipocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, and vascular endothelial cells, whether they're generated normally or not. GDF-15 levels have increased and are associated with cardiovascular risk. Aim of the study: To investigate the correlation between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) with the level of plasma GDF-15 in a group of hypertensive patients. Materials and methods: A case-control study involved 90 individuals, 60 hypertensive patients (36 on ACE inhibitors and 24 on ARBs)
... Show MorePolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent condition in women of reproductive age. It is characterized by androgen excess and chronic anovulation. Some trace elements, macroelements, and heavy metals have been linked to pathophysiological mechanisms of PCOS .
To study the alterations in the serum levels of the trace element manganese (Mn), some macroelements, magnesium(Mg) and calcium (Ca), and the heavy metals cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), in obese and non-obese PCOS patients; and the association of these alterations with some of the hormonal changes occurring in PCOS.
The study was carried out at Kamal Al-Samarrai Hospital (Center for Infertility treatment and in vitro Fertilization "IVF") Baghdad- Iraq. Eig
... Show MoreThe study aims to investigate the effect of the Six Thinking Hats Strategy on the achievement of essay writing skills among third-year students in Arabic Language and Literature who are Persian speakers enrolled in the course of Essay Writing (III) at Shiraz University for the academic year 2019-2020. The sample of the study consisted of (15) male and female students who were taught according to the pre-posttest, using the quasi-experimental approach. After applying the statistical analysis on the scores of the post-test, the results showed that there are statistically significant differences in the average of students' achievement in the skills of essay writing in terms of using the Six Thinking Hats Strategy. The results also proved th
... Show MoreBack ground: Oral isotretinoin is recommended
for sever nodulocystic acne in the doses 0.5-
2mg/kg/day which is usually associated with higher
incidence of adverse effects. To reduce the
incidence of side-effects and to make it more costeffective,
the lower dose regimen of isotretinoin has
been used.
Aim: To compare the efficacy and tolerability of
oral isotretinoin 10mg and 20mg/day in acne
vulgaris.
Methods: one hundred and twenty patients with
acne vulgaris were randomized into two treatment
regimens each consisting of 60 patients. The first
was treated with 10mg/day and the second group
with 20mg/day for 24 weeks. Fifty five patients
from the first group and 47 patients from the second
This study is concerned with organizational learning and its impact on total quality management in the education sector. Organizational learning is a process that provides the educational sector with the ability to adapt and respond rapidly to developments and changes in a better way according to its main dimensions (Mental Models, Personal Mastery, Team Learning, Shared Vision, System Thinking) by adopting the philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM) in accordance with its basic dimensions (leadership, customer satisfaction, participation of workers, continuous improvement, training and education). The main purpose of this study is to know (the impact of the Senge model of organizational learni
... Show MoreThis study is concerned with organizational learning and its impact on total quality management in the education sector. Organizational learning is a process that provides the educational sector with the ability to adapt and respond rapidly to developments and changes in a better way according to its main dimensions (Mental Models, Personal Mastery, Team Learning, Shared Vision, System Thinking) by adopting the philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM) in accordance with its basic dimensions (leadership, customer satisfaction, participation of workers, continuous improvement, training and education). The main purpose of this study is to know (the impact of the Senge model of organizational learni
... Show More