Multidrug use is well documented among nonmedical users of prescription stimulants. We sought to provide insight into the drug use patterns of those reporting nonmedical use of prescription attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stimulants in an attempt to discern whether such use is a first step in a pattern of drug-abusing behavior or, conversely, is a later development accompanied o...

INTRODUCTION Self medication is usually defined as intake of any type of drugs for treating oneself without professional supervision to relieve an illness or a condition. Self medication is an issue with serious global implications. In this study it was aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of self medication by the near coming physicians. METHODS A cross-sectional study wa...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of national implementation of age restriction on fluoroquinolone prescription in children and adolescents. METHODS Data collected from the database of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in South Korea, a national health insurance system to analyze fluoroquinolone prescribing practice in children and adolescents younger than 18 years, between 200...

BACKGROUND The illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) has emerged as a high-risk behavior of the 21st century college student. As the study of IUPS is relatively new, we aimed to understand (1) characteristics of IUPS (i.e., initiation, administration routes, drug sources, motives, experiences), and (2) theory-guided intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental correlates associated w...

background and aims. irrational prescription of antibiotics by clinicians might lead to drug resistance. clinicians do prescribe antibiotics for either prophylactic or therapeutic reasons. the decision of when and what to prescribe leaves room for misuse and therefore it is imperative to continuously monitor knowledge and pattern of prescription. the aim of the present study was to determine th...

background health literacy presents an enormous challenge in the delivery of effective healthcare and quality outcomes. we evaluated the impact of low health literacy (lhl) on healthcare utilization and healthcare expenditure.   methods database analysis used medical expenditure panel survey (meps) from 2005-2008 which provides nationally representative estimates of healthcare utilization and e...

BACKGROUND Under-prescription of antidepressants (ADs) among people meeting the criteria for major depressive episodes and excessive prescription in less symptomatic patients have been reported. The reasons influencing general practitioners' (GPs) prescription of ADs remain little explored. This study aimed at assessing the influence of GP and patient characteristics on AD prescription. METHO...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prospective 17-year relationship between the medical and nonmedical use of prescription stimulants during adolescence (age 18 years) and educational attainment and substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms in adulthood (age 35 years). METHOD A survey was self-administered by nationally representative probability samples of US high school seniors from the Monitoring the Fut...

AIMS To examine the prevalence rates and correlates of non-medical use of prescription stimulants (Ritalin, Dexedrine or Adderall) among US college students in terms of student and college characteristics. DESIGN A self-administered mail survey. SETTING One hundred and nineteen nationally representative 4-year colleges in the United States. PARTICIPANTS A representative sample of 10 904 r...