Pharmaceutics articles list

Furosemide is a widely potent diuretic drug used in the management of edema and hypertension. Various brands of furosemide are available in the Libyan market and should be subjected to different quality control tests to assess their pharmaceutical equivalence. This study aimed to assess and compare the quality and the pharmaceutical equivalence of some generic brands of furosemide 40 mg tablets marketed in Libya. The pharmaceutical quality of four brands of furosemide tablets was investigated using official and unofficial compendia standards including uniformity of weight, friability, thickness, hardness, drug content and dissolution rate. The results obtained showed acceptable external features as well as the thickness, diameter and uniformity of weight for all the furosemide tablets. The tested brands complied with the official specifications of friability, hardness and drug content. In conclusion, all four brands can be considered as bioequivalence and thus can be pharmaceutically substituted in clinical practice.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Diabetes mellitus is a common and chronic metabolic disorder. Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus leads to body organ damage if not treated properly. Educational intervention is necessary from health-care providers such as pharmacists to prevent or reduce organ damage and complications among the diabetic patients. Several studies have demonstrated the contribution of pharmacists in achieving a better control of diabetes mellitus. Thus, this study intended to assess the knowledge and practice regarding foot care among Libyan diabetic patients in Al-Bayda city. In addition, to determine the association between knowledge and practice regarding diabetic foot care with selected demographic variables. This is a cross sectional study conducted at Diabetes Center Aljabal Al akhdar in Al-Bayda between April and August, 2022. A total of 400 participants with diabetes were enrolled and interviewed by using a self-design questionnaire for knowledge and practice of foot care after taking verbal agreement. Data was analyzed by using SPSS software version 26.0. In this study, 191 subjects were male (47.8%) and 209 subjects (52.3%) were female. On the topic of foot care, 51.8% of the participants stated they did know how to perform correct foot hygiene and 33.5% stated that drying should consist of passing a towel between their toes. Female subjects statistically had more knowledge than male subjects on the right footwear and correct way of nail cutting (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). In relation to practice, the frequency of patients with a good practice was 126 (31.5%) and with poor practice was 274 (68.5%). Evaluating the parameters dry, moisturize and nail cutting, women showed a significant difference in relation to men, with a high significance level in the three parameters. In conclusion, the knowledge and practice of foot care in Libyan patients with diabetes were poor. So, an educational program is recommended to improve the awareness of foot care. Diabetic patients should be provided information about self-care of their feet by health care providers such as pharmacists to prevent and delay onset of foot complications and improve the quality of life.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Chronic kidney disease is a public health problem affecting people worldwide. This study was aimed to examine the characteristics of patients with chronic kidney disease and to identify prevalence of drug-related problems among Libyan patients. This is a descriptive retrospective study carried out in Southern-west part of Libya, Sebha City. Information abstraction forms were used for collection of data. The investigators reviewed the medications, medical records and laboratory data to identify drug-related problems.1 000 patients' files during 2019-2020 were examined and only 120 files were selected for this study. The majority of the participants were male (73, 61.0%) and the mean age was 56.1 years. 576 comorbidities among the selected patients were identified (73.61%) and the average number per patients was 4.8 concurrent diseases. There were 1 350 medications prescribed and the average of prescribed drugs per patient was 11.25. The majority of patients use more than 10 drugs (64, 53.3%) and the average length of staying in the hospital was 5.58 days. 502 drug-related problems were identified with an average of 4.18 per patient. Untreated conditions such as Hyponatremia and anemia were the highest rate of drug-related problems identified (199, 39.6%) followed by improper drug selection (82, 16.3%) such as cefotaxime, vancomycin and aminoglycoside for chronic kidney disease and drug use without indications such as antibiotics (68, 13.5%) and over-therapeutic dose such as metoclopramide(63, 12.5%). In conclusion, all the patients have polypharmacy and the majority have comorbid conditions and chronic kidney disease with frequent drug-related problems, thus, to lower the incidence rate of drug-related problems, therapeutic interventions are needed. Subsequently, it is a crucial to involve clinical pharmacist in hospital to improve the care of patient with chronic kidney disease.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences