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Publications (786)
Introduction
Inappropriate antibiotic use in (primary healthcare, PHC) settings fuels antimicrobial resistance (AMR), threatens patient safety and burdens healthcare systems. Patients’ knowledge, attitudes, motivations and expectations play a crucial role in antibiotic use behaviour, especially in low-income and middle-income countries including So...
Background
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health problem. Adherence to intensive insulin therapy is necessary to achieve better glycemic control in types 1 and 2 DM. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of adherence to insulin therapy, its predictors and to identify barriers to its adherence.
Method
This was a cross-sectional survey among a...
Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, motivations, and expectations of community members regarding antimicrobial use is essential for effective stewardship interventions. This scoping review aimed to...
Introduction
Surveillance of antibiotic use is crucial for identifying targets for antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs), particularly in pediatric populations within countries like Pakistan, where antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is escalating. This point prevalence survey (PPS) seeks to assess the patterns of antibiotic use in pediatric patients a...
Vaccine preventable diseases (VPD) pose significant morbidity and mortality globally. Two years after the endorsement of Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), the number of children not fully vaccinated increased from 19 million pre-COVID-19 to 25 million post-COVID, with 72% (18.2 million) of these labelled as zero-dose, i. e those who did not receiv...
Background
Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a considerable barrier to ending TB globally by 2035. In most high TB-burden countries in the sub-Saharan region, drivers of DR-TB treatment success are unknown.
Objectives
To determine predictors and patterns of treatment success rates (TSRs) in DR-TB in Namibia to inform strategies of national TB...
Objectives
This study examined parental experiences with COVID-19 vaccination and factors contributing to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (CVH) among them to help guide future policy initiatives.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Lahore, the second largest metropolis in Pakistan.
Participants
This study was conducted among parents residing in Lah...
Introduction
Antibiotics are frequently prescribed for neonates and children. However, this can be excessive with inappropriate prescribing leading to increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Paediatricians are key initiators of antibiotics. Consequently, their awareness, perceptions, readiness and potential barriers towards hospital-based antimic...
Purpose
Antimicrobial resistance is a global health crisis exacerbated by excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics, especially among low- and middle-income countries including Pakistan. The paediatric population is a key area in view of their vulnerability and excessive prescribing of antibiotics in Pakistan. Consequently, there is an urgent...
Objectives
The elderly are particularly prone to complications from a number of vaccine-preventable diseases. However, there are limited data on vaccine uptake for this vulnerable population in South Africa. Consequently, this study investigated influenza, pneumococcal and shingles vaccine uptake among elderly people in South Africa; reasons for th...
Inappropriate antimicrobial use in food animal farming propels antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that affects all health domains. Colistin is a ‘Reserve’ antibiotic for human treatment to be conserved for multidrug-resistant pathogens; however, it is being used as an animal growth promoter in many developing countries. The evolution of mobilized colis...
Background
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health issue which is exacerbated by increased inappropriate use of antibiotics for common eye infections. This cross sectional survey was to assess the appropriate use of antibiotics for eye infections in an ambulatory clinic in Ghana and possible determinants.
Method
The medical recor...
Introduction
Quality indicators (QIs) are widely used tools for antibiotic stewardship programmes. The Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) system has been developed by the WHO to classify antibiotics based on their spectrum of activity and potential selection of antibiotic resistance. This review aimed to identify existing indicators for optimal antibio...
Community pharmacists were recently authorized to provide vaccination services in Saudi Arabia. However, the implementation is still limited. Consequently, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and views of community pharmacists in the Qassim region regarding vaccines and vaccination services and to identify the barriers to providing s...
Despite many quality initiatives at the primary health care (PHC) level, little is known about the actual quality of care of patients diagnosed with hypertension in South Africa. This study aimed to develop quality indicators for hypertension management at the PHC level to improve the quality of care and patient outcomes. The RAND/UCLA Appropriaten...
Introduction
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern, necessitating the understanding of utilisation patterns and their rationale. Pilot studies have been conducted in a rural province in South Africa to determine the extent of self-purchasing of antibiotics by patients from independent and chain pharmacies. It is imperative to understan...
Introduction
This study assessed the prevalence and risk factors of nephrotoxicity in paediatric patients receiving aminoglycoside therapy at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Kenya.
Methods
Between July and September 2018, a prospective cohort study involving children receiving aminoglycoside treatment was carried out at KNH. Before beginni...
Objectives: Patients with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) typically have many complications
and co-morbidities, including secondary bacterial and fungal infections, which increase morbidity and mortality.
The first step to address this is to measure the prevalence rates, predictors of fungal infections, and outcomes of
patients wit...
Carbapenems are the antibiotics of choice for treating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are carbapenemases capable of hydrolyzing nearly all therapeutically available beta-lactam antibiotics. Consequently, this research assessed the distribution of two MBL genes and three β-lactamases and their associated phenot...
Introduction:
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the greatest public health challenges still facing communities worldwide, and until this moment, no vaccine is available for its prevention. In Brazil, the Rio de Janeiro State has stood out regarding the prevalence of this disease. As a result, an important state to consider the Willi...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272375.].
Background: Knowledge and skills in pharmacovigilance (PV) are required to mitigate adverse events associated with medicine use which are among the leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. This study explored the local perspectives and needs for PV education in Zambia. Methods: A mixed-methods study utilising a descriptive cros...
Research background: Internal business factors are vital to how a company achieves its goals. The present study of internal drivers of pharmaceutical company performance is very insight-ful, as it has the potential to boost further competitiveness, it may allow health authority personnel to have guidelines to make strategic decisions, as well as in...
Background:
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we evaluated the short-term impact of COVID-19 on antibiotic use in primary care in England, focusing on both antibiotic quantity (overuse) and quality (misuse) of use.
Research design and methods:
A population-based segmented interrupted analysis was applied on monthly dispensed antibiotics prescriptions...
Abstract
Colistin is a last-resort antimicrobial for treating multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Phenotypic colistin resistance is highly associated with plasmid-mediated mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes. mcr-bearing Enterobacteriaceae have been detected in many countries, with the emergence of colistin-resistant pathogens a global c...
Background:
Inappropriate use of antibiotics is expected to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are limited data on COVID-19's long-term impact. We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the quantity and quality of antibiotic use in Scotland.
Research design and methods:
A segmented interrupted time series was applied to monthly dispens...
Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming a threat to global public health. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) program (ASP) is one of the 5 strategic areas in the Ghana National Action Plan to fight this menace. Assessment of the core elements of ASP in a hospital setting has been identified as a pragmatic way of identifying the barrie...
Evaluating the access to and quality of healthcare services from the users’ perspective is an important assessment process to identify priorities. This study assessed the profile of health service usage and the views of the Unified Health System (SUS) users about the access to and quality of SUS public health services. A cross-sectional study was c...
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is prevalent among south Asian countries including Pakistan mainly due to excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics including among children. Globally, the majority of the population especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) visit ambulatory care facilities seeking care
The objectives of the current...
Despite many quality initiatives at the primary health care (PHC) level, little is known about the actual quality of care of patients diagnosed with hypertension in South Africa. The aim of this study was to develop quality indicators for hypertension management at the PHC level to improve the quality of care and patient outcomes. A 2-round RAND/UC...
Colistin is a last-resort antimicrobial for treating multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Phe-notypic colistin resistance is highly associated with plasmid-mediated mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes. mcr-bearing Enterobacteriaceae have been detected in many countries, with the emergence of colistin-resistant pathogens a global concern....
Introduction
Diarrhea remains a major global health issue for children under five, contributing substantially to morbidity and mortality. Community pharmacists play a pivotal role in the management of these children; however, their competence in managing childhood diarrhea in Saudi Arabia is under-researched. This is important to ensure optimal pat...
Introduction
There are concerns with rising rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across countries with appreciable impact on morbidity, mortality and costs. Amongst low- and middle-income countries, a key driver of AMR is the excessive use of antibiotics in ambulatory care, with a critical area being the appreciable selling of antibiotics withou...
Background
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health problem that is fuelled by the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics, especially those from the ‘watch’ and ‘reserve’ antibiotic lists. The irrational prescribing of antibiotics is particularly prevalent in developing countries, including Zambia. Consequently, there is a need to...
Carbapenem antibiotics are the drug of choice for treating multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) are carbapenemase capable of hydrolyzing nearly all therapeutically available beta-lactam antibiotics. Consequently, a need to assess the frequency and phenotypic resistance phenomena of two MBL genes in diarrheal and...
Background:
The safety of the COVID-19 vaccines has been a topic of concern globally. This issue of safety is associated with vaccine hesitancy due to concerns about the adverse effects of the vaccines. Consequently, this study determined the short-term safety profile of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Methods:
D...
Introduction
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat that necessitates coordinated strategies to improve antibiotic prescribing and reduce AMR. A key activity is ascertaining current prescribing patterns in hospitals to identify targets for quality improvement programmes.
Methods
The World Health Organisation point prevalence survey meth...
Introduction
There is considerable concern with rising rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with its subsequent impact on morbidity, mortality and costs. In low- and middle-income countries, a key driver of AMR is the appreciable misuse of antibiotics in ambulatory care, which can account for up to 95% of human utilisation. A principal area is t...
Syntactic interoperability data standards are crucial for effective collaboration in modern health systems, enabling seamless exchange of healthcare information. This paper aims to develop contextualized standards to support digital healthcare in Uganda within the WHO global strategic framework 2020-2025. The standards ensure patient data is collec...
Introduction:
Previous studies in Pakistan have shown considerable over prescribing of antibiotics in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 despite very low prevalence of bacterial infections. Irrational use of antibiotics will worsen antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Methods:
Retrospective analysis of medical records of patients in the COVID-19 war...
Objectives
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted classroom-based learning, necessitating the adoption of online learning in most universities. However, there has been a lack of information on university students’ perspectives regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the perspectives, satisfact...
Introduction
Antifungal resistance (AFR) is a growing global public health concern. Little is currently known about knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding AFR and antifungal stewardship (AFS) in Zambia, and across the globe. To address this evidence gap, we conducted a study through a questionnaire design starting with pharmacy students as th...
Background and objectives: There are concerns with the current prescribing practices of antibiotics in ambulatory care in Tanzania, including both the public and private sectors. These concerns need to be addressed as part of the national action plan (NAP) of Tanzania to reduce rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rates. Issues and concerns includ...
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is being increasingly seen as the next pandemic due to high morbidity and mortality rates, with Sub-Saharan Africa currently having the highest mortality rates driven by high rates of inappropriate prescribing in ambulatory care. In South Africa, nurses typically provide a range of services, including prescribing, in...
Background
Lockdown measures to reduce the outbreak of COVID-19 negatively impacted the administration of cancer
chemotherapy globally; however, data from Kenya are limited. Researchers strove to address this information
gap and assess chemotherapy trends before and during the pandemic at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH),
the most wide-ranging refe...
Background:
Selling antibiotics without prescriptions is mostly illegal, including in Ghana, and promotes antimicrobial resistance. We evaluated the prevalence and practice of selling antibiotics without prescriptions among community pharmacies (CPs) and drug outlets, for the first time, in Ghana to quantify and characterize this issue to inform f...
Costs of hemophilia A treatment are increasing. Waste of clotting products should be avoided. To estimate the first-year waste of emicizumab prophylaxis for people with hemophilia A and inhibitors (PwHAi) who failed immune tolerance induction (ITI), in Brazil. We evaluated the manufacturer and the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) protocol-recomme...
Background: Information regarding off-label and unlicensed medicine use among South African children is limited. This is a concern as the prescribing of off-label and unlicensed medicines can lead to issues of effectiveness and safety as well as raise liability issues in the event of adverse events. This potentially exposes physicians to legal pena...
The inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobials increases antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which poses an appreciable threat to public health, increasing morbidity and mortality. Inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing includes their prescribing in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, despite limited evidence of bacterial infections or coinfections....
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency in June 2022. In Pakistan, positive cases of monkeypox were reported in April 2023. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are considered as a front-line force to combat such outbreaks. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 11 public sector ed...
In South Africa (SA), patients with kidney failure can be on either haemodialysis (HD), which is performed by a healthcare professional in a hospital thrice weekly; or peritoneal dialysis (PD), which can performed daily at home. There needs to be more studies within the South African healthcare sector on the cost of kidney failure and especially th...
There are concerns with the current prescribing of antibiotics in both the private and public primary care settings in South Africa. These concerns need to be addressed going forward to reduce rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rates in South Africa. Concerns include adherence to current prescribing guidelines. Consequently, there is a need to c...
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are part of the key activities that contribute to reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Good knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among healthcare professionals (HCPs) are essential to improving future antimicrobial use and reducing AMR, which is a priority in Ghana. A multicenter cross-sectional sur...
Introduction:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern. Currently, the greatest mortality due to AMR is in Africa. A key driver continues to be high levels of dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription.
Areas covered:
A need to document current rates of dispensing, their rationale and potential ways forward including antimicrobia...
Adolescents and youths are a key part of the population that needs to be protected against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This is because they are more likely to spread the virus to vulnerable individuals. In view of these concerns, this study investigated the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors among adolescents and youths...
This editorial highlights concerns with current Drug Laws in Pakistan, specifically regarding the purchasing of antibiotics without prescriptions, and its implications for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The primary focus was on addressing the concerns related to the list of antimicrobial drugs outlined in Schedule D of the Punjab Drug Sale Rules....
Background:
Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are critical in preventing the risk of acquiring and transmitting nosocomial infections. In Zambia, there is little information concerning IPC practices among pharmacy students who are exposed to potentially infectious areas both in public and private healthcare settings. Therefore, this s...
There are typically lower COVID-19 vaccination rates among developing versus higher-income countries, which is exacerbated by greater vaccine hesitancy. However, despite the increasing evidence of safety, parents are still reluctant to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. This is a concern in countries experiencing successive waves, such as P...
Aim
To assess knowledge and risk awareness about weight loss supplements and their possible adverse consequences, and to investigate significant factors impacting such knowledge and risk awareness.
Subject and methods
A descriptive analytical cross-sectional community-based study was performed among students and teaching staff at Ajman University...
The uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is critical to address the severe consequences of the disease. Previous studies have suggested that many healthcare workers (HCWs) are hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, further enhancing hesitancy rates within countries. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy levels are currently unknown among HCWs in Zamb...
Hajj pilgrimage is a large mass gathering global event that may facilitate the spread and emergence of various infectious diseases as well as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in a local and global scenario. Planning and preparing for these public health issues is a challenging and complex process for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) health authoriti...
Objective:
There is a need to assess the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in hospitals as the first step toward improving future prescribing to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This is in line with the National Action Plan of Ghana.
Methods:
A point prevalence survey of antimicrobial use was undertaken at the adult medical, surgical an...
Background: There are concerns with inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics in hospitals especially broad spectrum in Pakistan and the subsequent impact on antimicrobial resistance rates. One recognized way to reduce inappropriate prescribing is for empiric therapy to be adjusted according to the result of culture sensitivity reports. Objective: U...
Bone and joint infections are associated with prolonged hospitalizations, high morbidity and complexity of care. They are difficult to treat, and successful therapy requires organism-specific antimicrobial therapy at high doses for a prolonged duration as recommended in standard treatment guidelines (STGs). Adherence to the treatment plan is equall...
Background and Objectives: The increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across countries has seriously impacted the effective management of infectious diseases, with subsequent impact on morbidity, mortality and costs. This includes Pakistan. Antimicrobial surveillance activities should be mandatory to continually assess the extent of multidrug-r...