Evaluation of Urinary Tract Infection following Corticosteroid Therapy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Exacerbation.

The first treatment for multiple sclerosis exacerbation is usually short-term intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP), with or without a regimen of oral prednisone taper (OPT). This study aims to evaluate the effects of IVMP and OPT in comparison with IVMP alone in raising the risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) and posttreatment improvement of urinary tract symptoms in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. This double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 56 people with multiple sclerosis relapse who had undergone methylprednisolone for 5 days.

Efficacy and safety of oral prednisolone tapering following intravenous methyl prednisolone in patients with multiple sclerosis relapses: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Relapse is one of the main features of multiple sclerosis (MS). Corticosteroids are the first line of management during MS relapse. Since tapering or non-tapering prednisolone after corticosteroid pulse has been a controversial issue, this clinical trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the tapering regimen.

Increasing the risk of spontaneous abortion and major malformations in newborns following use of serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy: A systematic review and updated meta-analysis.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently used antidepressants during pregnancy. There are conflicting results about their influence on pregnancy outcomes. The goal of this study was to update our previous meta-analysis about pregnancy outcomes following exposure to SSRIs.

Improvement of knowledge, attitude and perception of healthcare workers about ADR, a pre- and post-clinical pharmacists' interventional study.

Purpose Healthcare workers have a main role in detection, assessment and spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and improvement of their related knowledge, attitude and perception is essential. The goal of this study was evaluation of clinical pharmacists' interventions in improvement of knowledge, attitude and perception of healthcare workers about ADRs in a teaching referral hospital, Tehran, Iran. Method Changes in knowledge, attitude and perception of healthcare workers of Imam teaching hospital about ADRs were evaluated before and after clinical pharmacists' interventions including workshops, meetings and presentations.

Descriptive analysis of a clinical pharmacy intervention to improve the appropriate use of stress ulcer prophylaxis in a hospital infectious disease ward.

Background: Stress ulcers are acute superficial inflammatory lesions of the gastric mucosa induced when an individual is subjected to unusually high physiologic demands. In recent years, use of acid suppression therapy (AST) for stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) in inpatient settings other than intensive care has become increasingly common, leading to increased drug cost and an avoidable increased risk of adverse events such as hospitalacquired pneumonia.

Objective: To assess the effects of a clinical pharmacist intervention including AST prescribing and adherence to a SUP guideline that was developed by clinical pharmacists for use in the infectious disease ward of a teaching hospital based on the 1999 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) guidelines for use of SUP.