Patient self-referral patterns in a developing country: characteristics, prevalence, and predictors.

Background: Efficient healthcare delivery and access to specialized care rely heavily on a well-established healthcare sector referral system. However, the referral system faces significant challenges in developing nations like Bangladesh. This study aimed to assess self-referral prevalence among patients attending tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh and identify the associated factors.

Systematic analyses identify modes of action of ten clinically relevant biocides and antibiotic antagonism in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Concerns exist that widespread use of antiseptic or disinfectant biocides could contribute to the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. To investigate this, we performed transposon-directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS) on the multidrug-resistant pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, exposed to a panel of ten structurally diverse and clinically relevant biocides. Multiple gene targets encoding cell envelope or cytoplasmic proteins involved in processes including fatty acid biogenesis, multidrug efflux, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, cell respiration and cell division, were identified to have effects on bacterial fitness upon biocide exposure, suggesting that these compounds may have intracellular targets in addition to their known effects on the cell envelope.

Risk factors associated with self-medication among the indigenous communities of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh.

Background: In developing countries like Bangladesh, self-medication has become a predicament associated with health risks and clinical complications. To date, no studies have been conducted on the practice of self-medication among the indigenous population living in Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT).

Objectives: This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of self-medication and analyzing the factors associated with it among the indigenous population in CHT.