Comparison of diclofenac with tramadol, tizanidine or placebo in the treatment of acute low back pain and sciatica: multi-center randomized controlled trial.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability worldwide and has posed numerous health and socioeconomic challenges. This study compared whether nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in combination with tramadol, tizanidine or placebo would be the best treatment regime to improve the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) scores at 1 week.

Methods: This was a multi-center, double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial including adult patients with acute LBP and sciatica in three emergency departments in Hong Kong.

Filling the Gaps in the Pharmacy Workforce in Post-Conflict Areas: Experience from Four Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: While the pharmacy workforce is the third largest professional healthcare group worldwide, the pharmacy workforce landscape remains unclear in post-conflict areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Method: Key informants were selected for semi-structured interviews due to their role in providing pharmacy services in the selected country: the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, and South Sudan. Transcripts from the interviews were anonymized, coded, and analyzed.

Assessment of English language performance scores and academic performance in an English-based curriculum for pharmacy students with English as a second language.

Background: The primary objective was to determine if there is a relationship between English language performance and graduating grade point average (GPA) in pharmacy students with English as a second language (ESL).

Methods: Students graduating from a four-year pharmacy program in 2016-2018 were invited to participate in the study. We compared pharmacy students' pre-admission ESL scores to their cumulative GPA at graduation in each of the three graduating cohorts and also determined if these results held true for both genders.

Pharmacist Clinical Interventions and Discharge Counseling in Medical Rehabilitation Wards in a Local Hospital: A Prospective Trial.

Patients undergoing rehabilitation experience numerous changes in medication regimens during care transitions, exposing these patients to an increased risk of drug-related problems (DRPs). A prospective, non-randomized, quasi-experimental study was conducted in medical rehabilitation wards to evaluate the impact of pharmacist-delivered interventions and counseling on 30-day unplanned health care utilization and medication adherence for selected rehabilitation patients. A pharmacist provided medication reconciliation and counseling before discharge.

Risk factors for aquiring multidrug-resistant organisms in urinary tract infections: A systematic literature review.

Background: This is the first review to analyze literature identifying risk factors for a multidrug-resistant urinary tract infection (MDR UTI). Risk factors for other infections involving multidrug-resistant organisms have been evaluated in other reviews, but they do not assess urinary tract infections. The purpose of this study is to collect currently published data to determine the most commonly and consistently identified risk factors for UTIs.

Evaluation of Drug-Disease Interactions and Their Association with Unplanned Hospital Readmission Utilizing STOPP Version 2 Criteria.

Early hospital readmission is a common problem among geriatric patients, as they are more susceptible to adverse drug events, which are associated with increased hospital admission. The objective is to examine the association between exposure to potentially inappropriate medications under selected STOPP version 2 criteria related to drug-disease interactions and unplanned early hospitalization within 28 days of index admission in elderly patients prescribed a potentially inappropriate medication. This retrospective single-center study reviewed patients 75 years of age or older that were discharged with 5 or more medications, including at least one selected medication listed in the STOPP version 2 criteria relating to drug-disease interactions.

Antithymocyte globulin dosing effects on biopsy-proven acute rejection and infection risk.

Background: Antithymocyte globulin (rATG) is a polyclonal antibody commonly used as induction therapy in kidney transplantation to reduce risk of allograft rejection. Currently there is no consensus on the optimal dosing. rATG is not FDA approved for induction therapy, so no dosing recommendations are provided by the manufacturer.

Factors affecting access to head and neck cancer care after a natural disaster: a post-Hurricane Katrina survey.

Background: Our aim was to survey the factors affecting access to cancer care in patients with head and neck cancer after Hurricane Katrina.

Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, 207 patients with head and neck cancer were identified post-Hurricane Katrina, but only 83 patients completed the questionnaires and were analyzed. Clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic data were recorded.

The effect of AlloDerm on the initiation and growth of human neovessels.

Objectives/hypothesis: AlloDerm (LifeCell Corp., Branchburg, NJ) is commonly employed for reconstruction of ablative soft tissue and mucosal defects following surgical resections. Although devoid of growth factors, AlloDerm may serve as an adhesive matrix for binding of growth factors, increasing local angiogenesis, and wound healing.

Enhanced hearing in heat-activated-crimping prosthesis stapedectomy.

Objectives: Compare short-term hearing outcomes with a heat-activated-crimping versus manual-crimping stapedectomy prosthesis.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary care neurotology referral center.