scholarly journals Screening Education And Recognition in Community pHarmacies of Atrial Fibrillation to prevent stroke in an ambulant population aged ≥65 years (SEARCH-AF stroke prevention study): a cross-sectional study protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. e001355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Lowres ◽  
Saul Benedict Freedman ◽  
Julie Redfern ◽  
Andrew McLachlan ◽  
Ines Krass ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Mohanad Y. Al-Radeef

Atrial fibrillation is associates with elevated risk of stroke. The simplest stroke risk assessment schemes are CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc score. Aspirin and oral anticoagulants are recommended for stroke prevention in such patients. The aim of this study was to  assess status of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores in Iraqi atrial fibrillation patients and to report current status of stroke prevention in these patients with either warfarin or aspirin in relation to these scores. This prospective cross-sectional study was carried out at Tikrit, Samarra, Sharqat, Baquba, and AL-Numaan hospitals from July 2017 to October 2017. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were manually calculated. One hundred patients were participated, 48 were men and 52 were women. Their mean age was 62.56 ± 14.36 years. Permanent type of atrial fibrillation, palpitation, and hypertension were the most diagnosed type, symptom and comorbidity recorded in this study respectively. Average scores of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc were 2.34 ± 1.39 and 4.1 ± 2.05, respectively. These scores were not calculated for these patients in hospital setting. Aspirin and warfarin were prescribed regardless to these scores. The result of this study indicated that CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were often neglected in hospitals; and aspirin is still widely used as a strategy to minimize the risk of stroke. Keywords: Atrial fibrillation, CHADS2, CHA2DS2-VASc, aspirin, warfarin.


Author(s):  
Mohanad Yasir Radeef

Atrial fibrillation is associates with elevated risk of stroke. The simplest stroke risk assessment schemes are CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc score. Aspirin and oral anticoagulants are recommended for stroke prevention in such patients. The aim of this study was to  assess status of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores in Iraqi atrial fibrillation patients and to report current status of stroke prevention in these patients with either warfarin or aspirin in relation to these scores. This prospective cross-sectional study was carried out at Tikrit, Samarra, Sharqat, Baquba, and AL-Numaan hospitals from July 2017 to October 2017. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were manually calculated. One hundred patients were participated, 48 were men and 52 were women. Their mean age was 62.56 ± 14.36 years. Permanent type of atrial fibrillation, palpitation, and hypertension were the most diagnosed type, symptom and comorbidity recorded in this study respectively. Average scores of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc were 2.34 ± 1.39 and 4.1 ± 2.05, respectively. These scores were not calculated for these patients in hospital setting. Aspirin and warfarin were prescribed regardless to these scores. The result of this study indicated that CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were often neglected in hospitals; and aspirin is still widely used as a strategy to minimize the risk of stroke.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Caminati ◽  
L. Cegolon ◽  
M. Bacchini ◽  
N. Segala ◽  
A. Dama ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Asthma control and monitoring still represents a challenge worldwide. Although the international guidelines suggest the interplay between secondary and primary care services as an effective strategy to control the disease, community pharmacies’ are seldom involved in asthma control assessment. The present cross-sectional study aimed at providing a picture of the relationship between asthma severity and control in community pharmacies within the health district of the city of Verona (Veneto Region, North-Eastern Italy). Methods A call for participation was launched through the Pharmacists’ Association of Verona. Patients referring to the participating pharmacies with an anti-asthmatic drug medical prescription and an asthma exemption code were asked to complete the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and a brief questionnaire collecting information on their age, sex, smoking status, aerobic physical exercise and usual asthma therapy, which also defined asthma severity. A multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to investigate the risk of uncontrolled as well as poorly controlled vs. controlled asthma (base). Results were expressed as relative risk ratios (RRR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results Fifty-seven community pharmacies accepted to participate and 584 asthmatic patients (54% females; mean-age: 51 ± 19 years) were consecutively recruited from 1st January to 30th June 2018 (6 months). Based upon ACT score 50.5% patients had a controlled asthma, 22.3% a poorly controlled and 27.2% uncontrolled. A variable proportion of patients with uncontrolled asthma were observed for every level of severity, although more frequently with mild persistent form of asthma. Most patients (92%) self-reported regular compliance with therapy. At multinomial regression analysis, patients under regular asthma treatment course (RRR = 0.33; 95%CI: 0.15; 0.77) were less likely to have an ACT< 16 compared to those not taking medications regularly. Conclusions Overall, our findings highlighted an unsatisfactory asthma control in the general population, independently of the severity level of the disease. Community pharmacies could be a useful frontline interface between patients and the health care services, supporting an effective asthma management plan, from disease assessment and monitoring treatment compliance to referral of patients to specialist medical consultancies.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 823
Author(s):  
Sultan Alghadeer ◽  
Mohammed N. Al-Arifi

The awareness among Saudi people regarding the good and safe practice of drug disposal is fairly low. Community pharmacists’ potential toward drugs disposal directions and practice are not emphasized enough. Therefore, a cross sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to evaluate the practice, awareness and beliefs of community pharmacists about disposal of unused drugs. Out of 360 subjects who participated in the study, more than 70% returned the unused drugs to the pharmaceutical distributors. Around 80% of the participants confirmed the risk of environmental damage due to the inappropriate disposal of drugs, and 87.5% of them held themselves responsible for preventing such risk. Approximately 85% of surveyed pharmacists believed community pharmacies to be an appropriate location for the collection of unused drugs. There was no significant association between the community pharmacists’ age group and years of practice as community pharmacists with either the awareness of unused medication disposal on environmental hazards, or the beliefs about the appropriate location for collecting unused drugs (p > 0.05). The awareness and proactive accountable responsibility, along with community pharmacists’ belief of appointing pharmacies to collect unused drugs, strongly support the institution of drug take-back programs.


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