scholarly journals Do pharmacists counsel customers about the effects of sedating antihistamines on driving skills? A survey of community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 2018-2025
Author(s):  
Hani MJ Khojah

Objective To investigate the level of counselling regarding the effects of sedating antihistamines on driving skills provided by private community pharmacies in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Methods This study randomly selected private community pharmacies. Mystery shoppers following a similar scenario individually visited these pharmacies. These clients asked for a commonly used brand of sedating antihistamine and noted the counselling offered by the pharmacist. If spontaneous counselling was not offered, necessary information regarding the medication’s use was requested. Finally, the content of counselling was documented. Results Of the 100 pharmacies selected, 12 were excluded for various reasons and 88 pharmacies were included in the study. Only 23 pharmacies offered spontaneous counselling. Although 73.9% of pharmacists (65 of 88), spontaneously or upon request, mentioned sedation as a side-effect, only one pharmacist warned the client against driving after taking the medication, and three other pharmacists warned against dealing with hazardous machinery. Other side-effects were almost ignored. Conclusion A life-threatening insufficiency in the quality of counselling at Saudi Arabian private community pharmacies exists. Traffic accidents, secondary to the side-effects of sedating antihistamines, may be avoided if proper counselling is offered. Saudi Arabian authorities should take appropriate actions to ensure optimal practice in community pharmacies.

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enes Akyüz ◽  
Mohd. Farooq Shaikh ◽  
Betül Köklü ◽  
Cansu Ozenen ◽  
Alina Arulsamy

: Over the decades, various interventions have been developed and utilized to treat epilepsy. However, majority of epileptic patients are often first prescribed with anti-epileptic drugs (AED), now known as anti-seizure drugs (ASD), as a first line of defense to suppress their seizures and regain their quality of life. ASDs exert their anti-convulsant effects through various mechanisms of action including regulation of ion channels, blocking of glutamate-mediated stimulating neurotransmitter interaction, and enhancing the inhibitory GABA transmission. About one third of epileptic patients are often resistant to anti-convulsant drugs, while others develop numerous side effects which may lead to treatment discontinuation and further deterioration of quality of life. Common side effects of ASDs include headache, nausea and dizziness. However, more adverse effects such as auditory and visual problems, skin problems, liver dysfunction, pancreatitis and kidney disorders may also be witnessed. Some ASDs may even result in life-threatening conditions as well as serious abnormalities, especially in patients with comorbidities and in pregnant women. Nevertheless, some clinicians had observed a reduction in the development of side effects post individualized ASD treatment. This suggest that a careful and well-informed ASD recommendation to patients may be crucial for an effective and side-effect free control of their seizures. Therefore, this review aimed to elucidate the anticonvulsant effects of ASDs as well as their side effect profile, by discussing their mechanism of action and reported adverse effects based on clinical and preclinical studies, thereby providing clinicians with a greater understanding of the safety of current ASDs.


Author(s):  
Joshua A. Sloan ◽  
Philip O. Katz

The medical and lay literature has exploded with reports of adverse events associated with proton pump inhibitors over the last 10 to 15 years. The dissemination of these reports to patients and clinicians have created substantial concerns regarding what has been an exceptionally valuable drug class, dramatically improving patient quality of life, and in many cases preventing life threatening side effects of other medication. Patients are more frequently seeking to avoid these medications, and practitioners are reducing or discontinuing them to the patient’s detriment due to a misunderstanding of the data. This review will discuss the data regarding the most commonly publicized adverse events and attempt to put them in perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Łukasz Hajac ◽  
Martyna Hajac ◽  
Adam Maciejczyk

Nausea and vomiting are one of most frequent side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Effective prevention and treatment of these symptoms is essential for better quality of life for patients undergoing oncological therapies. Nausea and vomiting can be acute, delayed or anticipatory. Leading mechanisms and methods of treatment are different for each of those. Most often used groups of drugs are: 5-HT3-antagonists, glucocorticosteroids, NK1-antagonists. Another important group are neuroleptics, which are therapy of choice for anticipatory vomiting. Modern antiemetic medications are in most cases safe and effective. But as every treatment it causes risks of adverse events which may be serious and difficult to manage. It applies in particular to long-acting drugs. Most common side effects are headache, constipation and sedation. But more severe or life-threatening symptoms may appear, like intestinal obstruction and serotonin syndrome. Some of the drugs also come with risk of interacting with other treatment. Changes in pharmacokinetics may lead to additional toxicities. In elderly, especially with cardiac disease, in risk of ileus or cachexia these drugs shall be used with caution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e24080-e24080
Author(s):  
Eva Battaglini ◽  
David Goldstein ◽  
Susanna Park

e24080 Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a major yet poorly understood side effect of cancer treatment, leading to symptoms including numbness, tingling and pain. It can lead to cessation of effective treatment, long-term functional disability and reduced quality of life. Despite this, there is currently little understanding of its impact. Methods: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of neurotoxic chemotherapy side effects on the lives of cancer survivors. Data was collected via an online survey covering demographics, cancer diagnosis and treatment, CIPN and other side effects of chemotherapy, using standardised measures to assess comorbidities, quality of life, physical activity, pain and CIPN symptoms. Results: Data was analysed from 986 respondents who were treated with neurotoxic therapies (83% female, 16% male), with mean age 59 years ( SD 10.7 years). A majority of respondents were treated for breast cancer (59%), 14% for colorectal cancer and 11% for multiple myeloma. Chemotherapy types received included paclitaxel (32%), docetaxel (32%) and oxaliplatin (13%), and respondents completed treatment a mean of 3.6 years ago. The majority of respondents (80%) reported experiencing neuropathic symptoms after finishing chemotherapy, with 77% reporting current CIPN. Those with CIPN reported functional impacts, with 23% reporting moderate to severe problems with hand function and 28% reporting moderate to severe walking difficulties. CIPN was second most commonly rated as the treatment side effect having the greatest impact, following fatigue. Respondents with high levels of current CIPN symptoms had poorer quality of life, more comorbid health conditions, higher BMI and more often received multiple neurotoxic chemotherapies than those with low levels of CIPN symptoms. In addition, respondents who reported meeting government physical activity guidelines had lower CIPN and higher quality of life scores than those who did not meet the guidelines. Regression analyses investigating the association between quality of life and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics resulted in a model with comorbid health conditions, CIPN symptoms, years since treatment, age and physical activity as significant predictors of quality of life. Conclusions: These findings suggest that CIPN has a lasting impact on cancer survivors, leading to decreases in quality of life, often occurring alongside poorer general health. This impact supports the need for further research to improve assessment, prevention and treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 429-429
Author(s):  
Amy Westermann ◽  
Lynn McCormick Matrisian ◽  
Lola Rahib

429 Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) and its treatment(s) results in symptom and side effect burden and can impact patient’s overall quality of life (QOL). Methods: Patient reported information on management of side effects and symptoms were collected using PanCAN’s Patient Registry (01/2016 – 07/2018). Results: Patient reported information on side effects, pain and depression is detailed in the table. Side effects: 94% reported fatigue and 8% reported taking anti-fatigue medication. 72% reported nausea or vomiting during treatment and 83% reported taking anti-nausea medication. Pain: Of the 90% of patients who reported pain related to PC, 27% did not take pain medication, 47% visited the ER and 32% were hospitalized due to pain. Depression: Of the 83% of users reported feeling depressed during PC, 46% were diagnosed with depression, 37% prescribed anti-depressant, and 48% did not see a therapist. Conclusions: Nausea was reported as most managed. Fatigue, pain and depression were generally unmanaged. ER visits and hospitalizations due to pain were frequently reported. An improvement in the management of these side effects and symptoms is needed as it can affect patient’s ability to tolerate treatment, improve overall QOL, and may lower overall healthcare costs. [Table: see text]


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1566-1566
Author(s):  
Paris A. Kosmidis ◽  
Christie Lagogianni ◽  
Thanos Kosmidis

1566 Background: Quality of life of cancer patients is a critical part of cancer care. Symptom management is evolving as a multidisciplinary approach, and is increasingly delivered through a combination of physical and remote interactions. CareAcross is an online platform offering personalized, guidelines-based support to cancer patients, that complements physicians’ support and enables remote monitoring. This analysis investigated the improvement in the quality of life of cancer patients delivered through such remote support. Methods: Patients engage with an online interactive platform to receive personalized support based on a variety of parameters, through algorithms incorporating their exact diagnoses, treatments and comorbidities, and more. For symptom management, patients report the presence of specific side-effects via brief questionnaires; for each side-effect reported, they receive tailored support (text and multimedia) to help overcome it. These online questionnaires are repeated periodically to capture the outcome of the supportive process, and provide additional support as necessary. A retrospective analysis evaluated the efficacy of the personalized support: each patient’s reported side-effects were compared before versus after receiving the support, hence calculating the reduced incidence. Results: 2203 patients from 8 countries, with breast, lung, prostate or colorectal cancer (1563, 404, 159 and 77, respectively) reported side-effects, received support, and updated their reports at least once. The median follow-up period was 4.9 months. The patient-reported outcomes on their quality of life revealed substantial improvement, regardless of cancer type (lowest recorded improvement = 25.7%). Commonly reported side-effects included sleep problems, dry mouth, constipation, changes in food taste, and more (see Table). Side-effects reported in specific cancer types also showed substantial improvement, including hot flushes (breast; 32.0% improvement), dyspnea (lung; 38.1%), bowel dysfunction (prostate; 80%) and others. The efficacy of the support to breast, prostate or colorectal cancer patients was similar; support to lung cancer patients exhibited the lowest efficacy (p < 0.05). Fatigue was the most common side-effect. It was also the most resistant to improvement compared to all others (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Digital remote support of cancer patients is a realistic option to improve quality of life. Randomized controlled trials can help quantify its impact on health economics, hospital admissions, resource utilization, and other aspects.[Table: see text]


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 267-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Lau ◽  
Rainer Reisenzein

In four experiments involving 565 German speakers we tested several hypotheses about possible determinants of the side-effect effect (see), which consists of judging foreseen bad, but not good, side-effects of actions as intentionally produced. Experiment 1 failed to find intentionality ascriptions for bad side-effects for the majority of the participants in two different scenarios and obtained no consistent support for two hypothesized social-cognitive determinants of the see, the agent’s attitude and the mode of effect description. Experiment 2 replicated the see in the original ceo scenario, but again found no evidence that the effect was influenced by the agent’s attitude towards the side-effect. The see was also not influenced by a manipulation of the moral quality of the agent’s primary goal. Experiment 3 investigated six additional scenarios used in previous studies and again obtained clear evidence for the see only in the ceo scenario. In addition, Experiment 3 demonstrated that judgments of both intent and intentionality strongly increased if the original side-effect was described as a means to the agent’s primary goal, or as an independently pursued goal. Taken together, the findings suggest that for German speakers, the see depends on the specifics of the scenario content and is difficult to obtain outside the original ceo scenario. Consistent with these conclusions, Experiment 4 documented parallel difficulties replicating the “means effect”, an analogue of the see on the level of means, but replicated the see in a scenario closely modeled after the original ceo scenario.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Shanti Lesmana Sari ◽  
Rani Lisa Indra ◽  
Raja Fitriana Lestari

Chemotherapy treatments undergone by breast cancer patient’s have several side effect. From the side effects that, each patient perceives the side effects that will interfere with their daily lives which in turn affect the quality of life. This research was made for showing the correlation of chemotherapy side effect with the quality of life of breast cancer patient’s in Arifin Achmad Hospital in Riau Province. The research was one of quantitative correlation research with cross-section method that had been done to 63 respondents in Arifin Achmad Hospital in Riau Province by using consecutive sampling technique bye used was questionnaire. The test used unpaired t-test. This research result was gotten if Pvalue=0.216 (Pvalue=0.05), which mean is no correlation between chemotherapy side effect perspective and quality of life of breast cancer patient’s. Based on the result, we hope Arifin Achmad Hospital in Riau Province develop more health service to the community to increase positive judgement from chemotherapy treatment and quality of life of breast cancer patient’s.  


2013 ◽  
Vol 04 (07) ◽  
pp. 511-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hani M. J. Khojah ◽  
Henrik Pallos ◽  
Naoko Yoshida ◽  
Manabu Akazawa ◽  
Hirohito Tsuboi ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Anca Bojan ◽  
Tunde Torok-Vistai ◽  
Andrada Parvu

With the increasing overall survival of cancer patients due to recent discoveries in oncology, the incidence of side effects is also rising, and along with secondary malignancies, cardiotoxicity is one of the most concerning side effects, affecting the quality of life of cancer survivors. There are two types of cardiotoxicity associated with chemotherapy; the first one is acute, life-threatening but, fortunately, in most of the cases, reversible; and the second one is with late onset and mostly irreversible. The most studied drugs associated with cardiotoxicity are anthracyclines, but many new agents have demonstrated unexpected cardiotoxic effect, including those currently used in multiple myeloma treatment (proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents), tyrosine kinase inhibitors used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and some forms of acute leukemia, and immune checkpoint inhibitors recently introduced in treatment of refractory lymphoma patients. To prevent irreversible myocardial damage, early recognition of cardiac toxicity is mandatory. Traditional methods like echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging are capable of detecting structural and functional changings, but unable to detect early myocardial damage; therefore, more sensible biomarkers like troponins and natriuretic peptides have to be introduced into the current practice. Baseline assessment of patients allows the identification of those with high risk for cardiotoxicity, while monitoring during and after treatment is important for early detection of cardiotoxicity and prompt intervention.


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