A novel fast-releasing formulation containing curcumin and anti-microbial peptide-encapsulated transdermal hydrogels into microneedles to reduce inflammation in the therapy of neonatal sepsis

Neonatal sepsis is a leading cause of neonatal mortality worldwide. Typically, intramuscular injections of gentamycin and vancomycin have been the preferred treatment for sepsis. The use of these drug molecules has many complications because of some side effects, proper dosage calculations, and harmless injection supply. In the present study, we developed new combinations of therapeutic drug molecules containing anti-inflammatory curcumin with bioactive antimicrobial peptides (AMP). We designed and developed a biocompatible and thermally responsive chitosan/polyacrylamide polymeric microneedle array to deliver AMP/curcumin nanoparticles (Nano-Cur) transdermally. The prepared drug-loaded microneedles were investigated for their chemical and morphological structure, in vitro insertion, and transdermal drug release. This investigation established that AMP/Nano-Cur-loaded microneedles have potential effects in sepsis treatment.

The effect of drug dosage calculation training program on math anxiety and nursing students’ skills: A non-randomized trial study

Background & Aim: Drug dosage calculation is one of the main skills in the drug administration process that requires sufficient knowledge about mathematical calculations and drug dosage; besides, lack of math anxiety is required for drug dosage calculation. This study aimed to determine the effect of mathematical calculation and drug dosage training programs on math anxiety and nursing students’ drug dosage calculation skills. Background & Aim: Drug dosage calculation is one of the main skills in the drug administration process that requires sufficient knowledge about mathematical calculations and drug dosage; besides, lack of math anxiety is required for drug dosage calculation. This study aimed to determine the effect of mathematical calculation and drug dosage training programs on math anxiety and nursing students’ drug dosage calculation skills. Results: The two groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic variables, math anxiety, and drug calculation scores in the baseline. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated the significant effect of the group on math anxiety (P=0.024). Given the interaction between group effect and time for the drug dosage calculations, comparing the differences between the second- and third-time scores of the baseline scores showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of drug dosage calculations (P <0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of a drug dosage calculation training program for nursing students can lead to the reduction of math anxiety and improvement of the drug dosage calculations; this can ultimately help improve patient safety.