Quality medicines for the poor: experience of the Delhi programme on rational use of drugs.

Prior to 1994, most Delhi hospitals and dispensaries experienced constant shortages of essential medicines. There was erratic prescribing of expensive branded products, frequent complaints about poor drug quality and low patient satisfaction. Delhi took the lead in developing a comprehensive Drug Policy in 1994 and was the only Indian state to have such a comprehensive policy.

Prescribing pattern and indicators for performance in a psychiatric practice.

AIMS To assess the prescribing pattern and to measure some specific aspects of the behaviour of the prescribers (psychiatrists) before and after educational interventions using core drug use indicators. METHODS In the present randomized retrospective controlled pre-post intervention prescription survey of schizophrenia and depression, 100 prescriptions each for schizophrenia and depression were obtained before and after each intervention. The prescriptions were analyzed for the following prescriber-specific indicators: number of drugs prescribed, prescribing by generic names, prescriptions for essential drugs, antiparkinsonian and benzodiazepines, nature of drugs and number of combinations prescribed.

Efficacy and tolerability of prochlorperazine buccal tablets in treatment of acute migraine.

Objectives: To study the efficacy and tolerability of prochlorperazine (PCZ) management of acute migraine.

Design And Methods: A double blind comparative study was conducted to assess the efficacy of buccal PCZ 3 mg compared with oral ergotamine tartarate 1 mg plus caffeine 100 mg (ERG) or placebo (buccal or oral) for treatment of acute migraine. In all, 114 episodes of acute migraine were evaluated.

Effect of fluvoxamine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists on shock-induced depression in mice.

We have earlier demonstrated that NMDA receptor antagonists possess antidepressant effect and also they show a synergism with imipramine. The present study attempts to investigate whether NMDA receptor antagonists also interact with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The study was conducted in albino mice using shock-induced depression model.