OBJECTIVE To analyze the resource utilization in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and predictive factors in and patients treated with biological drugs and biologic-naïve. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in a sample including all regions and hospitals throughout the country. Sociodemographic data, disease activity parameters and treatment data were obtained. Resource utilizatio...

BACKGROUND Multiple factors influence a child's ability to access oral health care. The aim of this study was to identify factors that facilitated and served as barriers to children's utilization of oral health care services in Enugu, Nigeria. METHODS The study recruited 1406 primary school pupils aged 8 to 11 years. All the children received oral health education, with the aid of an oral hea...

BACKGROUND Worldwide cervical cancer is one of the more common forms of carcinoma among women, causing high morbidity and high mortality. Despite being a major health problem in Tanzania, screening services for cervical cancer are very limited, and uptake of those services is low. We therefore conducted a study to investigate utilization of cancer screening services, and its associated factors ...

The activity of aminoglycosides, which are used to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, is reduced under the anaerobic conditions that reflect the CF lung in vivo. In contrast, a 4:1 (wt/wt) combination of fosfomycin and tobramycin (F:T), which is under investigation for use in the treatment of CF lung infection, has increased activity against P. ...

INTRODUCTION The increasing rate of patient exposure to radiation from computerized tomography (CT) raises questions about appropriateness of utilization. There is no current standard to employ informed consent for CT (ICCT). Our study assessed the relationship between informed consent and CT utilization in emergency department (ED) patients. METHODS An observational multiphase before-after c...

A study was carried out to investigate nitrogen metabolism in response to cecal ligation and colostomy in chickens. We used colostomized plus ceca-ligated chickens fed a low protein diet or a low protein diet supplemented with urea. When both types of diets were fed, nitrogen balance and utilization tended to increase by cecal ligation while total nitrogen excretion tended to decrease. Colostom...

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of clinically relevant potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in a large population of ambulatory patients utilizing a computerized, retrospective drug utilization review (DUR) program followed by clinical pharmacist audit. METHODS The drug claims database included approximately 2.9 million patients with more than 30 million prescriptions dispensed in the...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Information available on drug consumption is inadequate in most low and middle income countries. This systematic review was conducted to analyse published work on drug utilization research/studies (DUR) in the SEARO region of WHO for study objectives, methodology, results and recommendations and to identify the need for improving DUR and the use of the ATC/DDD system. ...

BACKGROUND Canadians receive over 422 million prescriptions and spend over $26 billion annually on drugs. Yet, we do not systematically capture information on whether the right drugs reach the right people with the intended benefits, while avoiding unintended harm. It is important to identify and understand the effectiveness of approaches used to improve prescribing and medication use. OBJECT...