Non-prescription sympathomimetic agents and hypertension

In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the pressor effects of nonprescription sympathomimetic agents. The impact and usage of these agents especially ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine and phenylephrine, in hypertensive patients has been the topic of constant debates. The present review is an attempt to report and evaluate all the clinical trials and cases of pressor reactions associated with these 4 agents. The study protocols used in these clinical trials are examined and comments made on any diversion from the standard design. Many factors are found to cause the discrepancies in the data available. It is concluded that ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine are best avoided by hypertensive patients due to higher probability of causing pressor reactions. Data on pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine appear to indicate non-significant effects on blood pressure of normotensive subjects when used at the recommended oral dose as nasal decongestants. Phenylephrine is also commonly employed in nasal and eye drops and the limited data available appear to support its usage in hypertensive patients. However, it is noted that most of the clinical trials involve normotensive subjects and the majority of the results could not be verified due to inadequacies in the study design. This paucity and inconclusive information on hypertensive patients warrants further investigations with emphasis on the study protocols used.

Consumer satisfaction with over-the-counter products in pharmacy and non-pharmacy students

Much of the work in the area of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction has revolved around dissatisfaction and complaining behavior (Anderson, Gunter, Altimus and Pittman, 1973). This is indeed an interesting phenomenon when one notes that a relatively small percentage (generally less than one-third) of consumers formally complain when dissatisfied (Trawick and Swan, 1979). Many of the numerous products and services on today's market prove to be unsatisfactory to consumers (Moore, Shuptrine and Thomas, 1979). Interest in this particular field of complaint behavior has resulted in a number of studies focusing on differences between complainers and noncomplainers, effects of purchase expectations being confirmed or denied, and descriptions of consumer problem areas (Bearden, Teel and Crockett, 1980).