Proton pump inhibitor use: systematic review of global trends and practices.

Purpose: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) reduce acid secretion in the stomach and rank as one of the most widely used acid-suppressing medicines globally. While PPIs are safe in the short-term, emerging evidence shows risks associated with long-term use. Current evidence on global PPI use is scarce.

The extent of community pharmacists' involvement in detecting and resolving Drug Related Problems (DRPs) in prescriptions - A real time study from Sri Lanka.

Background: Appropriate medication use is necessary to ensure patient safety. Drug Related Problems (DRPs) could result in patient harm.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and types of DRPs in prescriptions, and the proportion of DRPs detected and resolved by community pharmacists during dispensation of prescriptions in a selected community pharmacy.

Are medications safely used by residents in elderly care homes? - A multi-centre observational study from Sri Lanka.

Background: Most residents in elderly care homes in Sri Lanka do not receive formal, on-site, patient care services.

Objective: To evaluate the appropriateness of prescribing, dispensing, administration, and storage practices of medication used by residents in selected elderly care homes in Colombo District, Sri Lanka.

Methodology: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, multi-center study of 100 residents with chronic, non-communicable diseases, who resided in nine selected elderly care homes in Sri Lanka.

'Modified STOPP-START criteria for Sri Lanka'; translating to a resource limited healthcare setting by Delphi consensus.

Background: 'Screening tool of older people's prescriptions (STOPP) and screening tool to alert to right treatment (START)' criteria is a useful tool to assess the appropriateness of medicines among older adults. However, the original STOPP/START criteria developed in the West, may not be directly applicable to resource limited healthcare settings like Sri Lanka. Hence, we aimed to modify STOPP/START criteria (Version 2) to suit Sri Lanka.

Ward-based clinical pharmacists and hospital readmission: a non-randomized controlled trial in Sri Lanka.

Objective: To assess if a ward-based clinical pharmacy service resolving drug-related problems improved medication appropriateness at discharge and prevented drug-related hospital readmissions.

Method: Between March and September 2013, we recruited patients with noncommunicable diseases in a Sri Lankan tertiary-care hospital, for a non-randomized controlled clinical trial. The intervention group received usual care and clinical pharmacy service.