Advances in Pharmacology and Therapeutics Journal
Volume:3 Issue: 3, Winter 2023

Vaccines are highly effective tools to combat COVID-19. Public vaccination in Iran began in February 2021. Healthcare personnel, constitute a priority for vaccination.

This study aimed to investigate the willingness of medical students to accept the COVID-19 vaccine and explore the impact of attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs on their vaccination readiness.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical sciences students at Tehran Medical Sciences Islamic Azad University, Iran, between October and November 2021. An online anonymous questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes, and beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants' self-reportings determined vaccine rejection and acceptance, and data was completed and analyzed using SPSS-25.

Most respondents had a strong desire to get the vaccine (96.4%), while 62.6% hadn’t received yet. The preferred vaccine was Sputnik-V, followed by Oxford/AstraZeneca, COV-Iran Barekat, and Sinopharm. A 84.7% of them were asked about the COVID-19 vaccine by the public, but only 54.4% had received adequate training. Also, 77.3% believed, vaccination would be the final step in eradicating COVID-19.

Collaboration between the government and universities is crucial to educate medical students to have a better public guide and awareness. Also, as vaccine efficacy and safety were mutual concerns, educating the medical students might greatly help.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, are immune-mediated chronic relapsing intestinal disorders characterized by the presence of an acute or chronic inflammatory process in the bowel wall. Eugenol essential oil is used in traditional medicine to treat digestive disorders such as gastrointestinal ulcers, indigestion, and inflammation of the intestines. To investigate the effects of Eugenol on colitis in rat models. Eugenol was administered per rectum (5 and 10 mg/kg) and intraperitoneally (0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg) for 6 days after induction of colitis by acetic acid. The changes were examined macroscopically, histologically, and biochemically and compared with Dexamethasone. Results showed a significant decrease in the macroscopic damage score (P < 0.05), and reduction in the weight ratio of the colon (P < 0.01), the histological signs of inflammation (P < 0.01) such as infiltration of lymphocytes and macrophages into the mucosa, mucin depletion, crypt abscess, edema, and tissue damage, as well as leukocyte accumulation and myeloperoxidase level in compare with the colitis control group. This animal trial demonstrates the beneficial anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects of Eugenol in the treatment of acetic acid-induced colitis in rats. Eugenol can potentially be advantageous as a supplemental remedy for the treatment of IBD.

Mupirocin, an antibiotic, is frequently used to treat special traumatic infected skin lesions, such as impetigo, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), burn, scratch after operation, etc. Topical use of mupirocin can lead to some adverse drug reactions (ADR).

To report a case of mupirocin-induced contact dermatitis and a review of the literature to identify the causative factors and clinical characteristics.

We report a case of contact dermatitis in a 39-year-old woman which happened 2 days after mupirocin ointment application on her hand. Also, a review of the literature was done according to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched. Time or language filters were not used and all related reports were included.

In the mentioned case, mupirocin has a causative role in dermatitis. The review showed 10 cases of mupirocin-induced allergy. The clinical presentations included serum sickness, diffuse urticaria, fever, arthralgias, toxic epidermal necrolysis, pruritus, rash, breathlessness, palpitations, flushing, redness all over the body, low blood pressure, severe allergic contact dermatitis, pruritic papular eruption, extensive contact dermatitis, allergic contact hypersensitivities. All cases were improved after anti-allergic treatments except one who had been tracheostomy and was in serious condition.

this is the first review of mupirocin-induced allergy. Although these incidences are rare, clinicians should be aware to prevent severe reactions with serious consequences.

The rational use of drugs is one of the main elements of achieving the best pharmacotherapy method. By contrast, the irrational use of drugs imposes many problems on healthcare systems worldwide. Since the irrational and inappropriate prescription of antibiotics is one of the main underlying factors of global threat of increased antibiotic resistance, it is of utmost importance to evaluate the rational use of widely used antibiotics in the healthcare system. Vancomycin is used for infections caused by gram-positive bacteria, including Methicillin-resistant staphylococci and enterococci, but the inappropriate use of this drug has led to the emergence of Vancomycin-resistant strains. The purpose of this study was to investigate the manner of Vancomycin prescription in Chamran Hospital of Isfahan.This cross-sectional study was conducted on 402 patients admitted to Shahid Dr. Chamran Heart Hospital of Isfahan in the period of 6 months (from September 1, 2021 to Feburary 1, 2022). The information of these patients was recorded through a checklist, including the demographic information of the patient, the drugs used, the reason for hospitalization, the number of days of hospitalization, the reason for vancomycin prescription and its starting time, and other information. Then, the matching or non-matching of drug prescription was investigated based on the diagnosed disease.The Blood culture type with a frequency of 6.2% and the Pericardia culture type with a frequency of 0.2% had the highest and lowest frequency in the studied subjects, respectively. 36.8% of those who used Vancomycin also used Ceftriaxone. 81.8% of those who used vancomycin used it for prophylaxis. The frequency of rational prescription in people with endocarditis indication was significantly higher than people without this indication. Also, the frequency of rational and irrational prescription in prophylaxis indication is higher than other indications. The frequency of prescribing the correct dose of medicine was 87.6%.

During the move between healthcare settings and changes in the medical status of patients, it is very important to update the correct drug regimen according to the clinical conditions to avoid the possibility of medical errors. Nearly half of medication errors occur during initial admission, transfer between hospital departments, and before discharge. Among these errors, about 30% of cases have the potential of seriously harming the patient. Some risk factors, such as old age and the number of drugs used, are associated with an increased risk of medication discrepancies. The medication reconciliation process can significantly reduce the risk of potential errors. It includes obtaining, verifying, and documenting a list of the patient's current medications and comparing it to the patient's medication orders and condition to identify and resolve any discrepancies. Comparing what is being prescribed in one setting with what is being taken in another will prevent errors of drug-drug interactions, omission, and other discrepancies. Pharmaceutical reconciliation is an important element of patient safety and rational drug use, and it can significantly contribute to the health economy