The Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire: validation of a Brazilian-Portuguese version in hypertensive adults.

Background: Self-reported adherence scales are widely used in research and practice because they are low in cost and easy to apply. A free version in Brazilian-Portuguese of the Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire (SMAQ) can be a useful alternative for determining the adherent behavior of hypertensive patients.

Purpose: To translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the SMAQ therapeutic adherence scale for patients with arterial hypertension.

Use of antimicrobials in pediatric wards of five Brazilian hospitals.

The use of antimicrobials (AMs) in pediatric infections is common practice and use may be inappropriate leading to antimicrobial resistance. Off-label AM use is also common in this group and can result in drug-related problems. There is lack of DUR data in Brazil and in Latin America, specially for AM pediatric use.

Why Are We Still a Worm World in the 2020s? An Overview of Risk Factors and Endemicity for Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis.

Purpose: Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) is one of the most common chronic infections in developing countries associated with poor socioeconomic and sanitary conditions. The main objective of this overview was to evaluate the influence of environmental factors, risk factors related to the host, and control strategies on the prevalence of STH in different regions of the world.

Methods: LILACS, PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Clinical Trials (gray literature) databases were used to obtain the systematic reviews published until December 2020.

Quality indicators of hospitalized children influenced by clinical pharmacist services: A systematic review.

Background: Care for children who are hospitalized can be optimized if the pharmacist, in conjunction with the multidisciplinary team, promotes the rational use of medicines. In this sense, the evaluation of the quality of these clinical services through indicators is important in the planning, decision making of pharmacists and managers of these services.

Objective: To characterize which health indicators were influenced by the pharmaceutical clinical services for the care of children in hospitals.

The Pharmacoeconomic Impact of Pharmaceutical Care in the Hospital: Protocol for an Overview of Systematic Reviews.

Background: The clinical activities developed by pharmacists in a hospital environment can improve health outcomes and generate savings for hospitals. However, to determine whether pharmaceutical interventions are cost effective, it is essential to define a method according to which cost-effectiveness is intended to be measured. In addition, the quality of economic assessments and the amount of information present in systematic reviews in the literature make it difficult to analyze the effects of this intervention.

Which factors may influence the implementation of drug dispensing in community pharmacies? A qualitative study.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: Implementation of clinical pharmacy services, such as drug dispensing, is a complex process. It is necessary to understand the challenges associated with this practice from the perspective of the actors involved to help ensure optimal service provision. Thus, this study aimed to understand the factors that may influence the implementation of drug dispensing in community pharmacies, according to the perceptions of pharmacists.

An Overview of the Methodologies and the Quality of Studies on Pharmacotherapy for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia.

Background: It is often unclear whether systematic reviews and primary studies are de-signed to elucidate the efficacy or effectiveness of interventions. This may compromise the use of the information in clinical or policy decisions.

Objective: This overview aimed to evaluate the methodological profiles of studies on fibromyalgia pharmacotherapy in terms of the quality and nature of the interventions (efficacy versus effective-ness).

Perception of community pharmacists about the work process of drug dispensing: a cross-sectional survey study.

Background: Drug dispensing aims to promote rational medicine use. However, in many countries, the work processes are still not well defined. In this sense, the perception of pharmacists about dispensing practices presents an overview of how the service is being performed in the country and its main challenges.

Methods for the detection of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized children: a systematic review.

: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are a problem for healthcare systems worldwide. Pediatric patients constitute a vulnerable group with regard to ADRs. However, although pediatric patients are at increased risk for these reactions, there is little progress on ADR detection methods in this group.

Aberrant Phenotypes in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Its Relationship with Prognosis and Survival: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

: The aim of this review was to evaluate the influence of aberrant phenotypes in prognosis and survival in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients by multiparametric flow cytometry. : Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a review of PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science was carried out through 1998 to 2016, conducted by two reviewers independently, evaluating titles, abstracts and full-texts of the selected studies. : Ten studies were included on this review, in which the aberrant phenotype expression of 17 markers were detected in AML patients.

Prevalence of medication discrepancies in pediatric patients transferred between hospital wards.

Background Children are more susceptible to harm from medication errors and adverse drug reactions when compared to adults. Such events may occur from medication discrepancies while transitioning patients throughout the healthcare system. Contributing factors include medication discontinuity and lack of information by the healthcare team.

Brazilian pediatricians' adherence to food allergy guidelines-A cross-sectional study.

Food allergy is an emerging clinical condition in pediatrics, so recommendations on its management have been widely published. Studying pediatricians' adherence to these clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and understanding the reasons for their non-compliance can help to promote better management of this condition. A cross-sectional study was conducted by a survey among Brazilian pediatricians, randomly selected during the 38th Brazilian Congress of Pediatrics, which took place in October, 2017.

Perceptions of a group of hospital pharmacists and other professionals of the implementation of clinical pharmacy at a high complexity public hospital in Brazil.

Background: During the process of implementation of clinical pharmacy services, internal and external factors may favor or hinder the incorporation of care into the hospital routine. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of a group of hospital pharmacists and other professionals of the implementation of clinical pharmacy at a high complexity public hospital in Brazil.

Methods: A focus group with 16 pharmacists and interviews with tree key stakeholders including managers in the pharmaceutical, medical, and nursing profession were conducted to understand their perceptions of the implementation clinical pharmacy services in a high complexity public hospital in Brazil.

The effect of active learning methodologies on the teaching of pharmaceutical care in a Brazilian pharmacy faculty.

Background: In recent years, pharmacists have been involved in expanded patient care responsibilities, for example patient counseling in self-medication, medication review and pharmaceutical care, which require graduates to develop the necessary competences. Consequently, reorientation of pharmacy education has become necessary. As such, active learning strategies have been introduced into classrooms to increase problem-solving and critical thinking skills of students.

Understanding of pictograms from the United States Pharmacopeia Dispensing Information (USP-DI) among elderly Brazilians.

Objective: To assess the understanding and cultural acceptability of the United States Pharmacopeia Dispensing Information (USP-DI) in a group of elderly Brazilians.

Methods: The study participants were individuals between 60 and 90 years old, of both sexes, with different levels of education and income. Fifteen of 81 pictograms from the USP-DI were presented to the elderly subjects, individually, without subtitles and in random order, so that the participants' understanding of the pictograms could be evaluated.

Use of herbal medicines by elderly patients: A systematic review.

Objectives: We aimed to survey the published literature for articles that describe the use of herbal supplements by elderly patients and to summarize important aspects of selected studies, including most commonly used supplements, study type, study location, and potential hazards of herbal supplement use.

Methods: Literature searches were conducted on three scientific/medical databases: Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus. Search results were examined for articles involving the use of herbal products in the elderly population that met selection criteria.

[Indicators for drug selection in health systems: an integrative review].

Objective: To produce a panel of the main drug selection indicators by performing an integrative literature review.

Methods: After the elaboration of a review protocol, searches were conducted in LILACS, MEDLINE, Embase, and SciELO databases. The following search terms were used: "indicators"; "criteria"; "drug selection"; "pharmacy and therapeutics committee"; and "medication form"; with the applicable variations in English and Spanish.

Exploring the Quality of Systematic Reviews on Pharmacist Interventions in Patients With Diabetes: An Overview.

Objective: To assess the reporting and methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies on pharmacist interventions in patients with diabetes.

Data Sources: A comprehensive literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Scopus, and LILACS databases for systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies published from January 1990 to June 2013. The standardized search strategy included the use of MeSH terms or text words related to pharmacist interventions, diabetes, and systematic reviews.

Use of simulated patients to evaluate combined oral contraceptive dispensing practices of community pharmacists.

Background: Combined oral contraceptive (COC) use is the most commonly used reversible method of birth control. The incorrect use of COCs is frequent and one of the most common causes of unintended pregnancies. Community pharmacists (CPs) are in a strategic position to improve COC use because they are the last health professional to interact with patients before drug use.

Association between the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and blood pressure control.

Background: Non-adherence to treatment is an important and often unrecognized risk factor that contributes to reduced control of blood pressure (BP).

Objective: To determine the association between treatment adherence measured by a validated version in Portuguese of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and BP control in hypertensive outpatients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with hypertensive patients older than 18 years, treated at six of the Family Health Strategy Units in Maceió (AL), through interviews and home blood pressure measurements, between January and April 2011.

Adverse drug reactions caused by drug-drug interactions in elderly outpatients: a prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Although the prevalence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in elderly outpatients is high, many potential DDIs do not have any actual clinical effect, and data on the occurrence of DDI-related adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in elderly outpatients are scarce. This study aimed to determine the incidence and characteristics of DDI-related ADRs among elderly outpatients as well as the factors associated with these reactions.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted between 1 November 2010 and 31 November 2011 in the primary public health system of the Ourinhos micro-region, Brazil.