Translation and psychometric evaluation of the Turkish version of the pharmacy students' perceptions of preparedness to provide pharmaceutical care scale

The aim of the study is to conduct the psychometric evaluation of the Turkish version of the Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of Preparedness to Provide Pharmaceutical Care (PREP) scale. The present study was conducted at three faculties of pharmacy among fifth-year students during a three-month period in 2015. After the translation process, the Turkish version was developed. Psychometric evaluation consisted of the calculation of inter-rater and test-retest reliability and factor analysis. The mean age of 184 students (71.2% of female) was 23.74±1.07. The mean score of the Pharmacy Students' PREP scale was 4.54±1.00 and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.971. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability and factor analysis were also in concordance with the literature. In the present study, the Turkish version of Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of Preparedness to Provide Pharmaceutical Care Scale has been determined to be a reliable and validated tool to assess students' perceptions of preparedness to provide pharmaceutical care.

The potential role of clinical pharmacists in elderly patients during hospital admission

The aim of this study was to show the potential impact of services directed by clinical pharmacists, including medication reconciliation and medication review, on the hospital admission process for elderly patients. This study was conducted in an internal medicine ward between April 24 and July 25, 2014. Patients hospitalized due to any reason were eligible if they were 65 years or older and regularly used at least one medication at home. The clinical pharmacist evaluated potentially inappropriate medications (PIM), medication related problems (MRPs) and medication discrepancies at the time when these eligible elderly patients were admitted to the hospital. The physician acceptance rate as related the clinical pharmacist's recommendation was evaluated retrospectively. A total of 133 elderly patients (mean age 76.62 ± 8.12 years old; 70 female) were included in the study. Out of 394 medication discrepancies, 88.32% were found to be unintended discrepancies among 111 elderly patients upon hospital admission. PIM was found in 19.55% of these cases. A total of 396 MRPs among 115 patients were identified, with the most common being that the drug had not been taken/administered at all. The doctor acceptance rate of the clinical pharmacist's recommendation was found to be 85.60%. In conclusion, it was found that medication related problems and inappropriate medication utilization at admission could be prevented at a high rate of success by clinical pharmacist-driven medication reconciliation and medication review services.

Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745 reduces the duration of diarrhoea, length of emergency care and hospital stay in children with acute diarrhoea

Evidence from the literature has shown that Saccharomyces boulardii provides a clinically significant benefit in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhoea in children. In this multicentre, randomised, prospective, controlled, single blind clinical trial performed in children with acute watery diarrhoea, we aimed to evaluate the impact of S. boulardii CNCM I-745 in hospitalised children, in children requiring emergency care unit (ECU) stay and in outpatient settings. The primary endpoint was the duration of diarrhoea (in hours). Secondary outcome measures were duration of hospitalisation and diarrhoea at the 3rd day of intervention. In the whole study group (363 children), the duration of diarrhoea was approximately 24 h shorter in the S. boulardii group (75.4±33.1 vs 99.8±32.5 h, P<0.001). The effect of S. boulardii (diarrhoea-free children) was observed starting at 48 h. After 72 h, only 27.3% of the children receiving probiotic still had watery diarrhoea, in contrast to 48.5% in the control group (P<0.001). The duration of diarrhoea was significantly reduced in the probiotic group in hospital, ECU and outpatient settings (P<0.001, P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). The percentage of diarrhoea-free children was significantly larger after 48 and 72 h in all settings. The mean length of hospital stay was shorter with more than 36 h difference in the S. boulardii group (4.60±1.72 vs 6.12±1.71 days, P<0.001). The mean length of ECU stay was shorter with more than 19 h difference in the probiotic group (1.20±0.4 vs 2.0±0.3 days, P<0.001). No adverse effects related to the probiotic were noted. Because treatment can shorten the duration of diarrhoea and reduce the length of ECU and hospital stay, there is likely a social and economic benefit of S. boulardii CNCM I-745 in adjunction to oral rehydration solution in acute infectious gastroenteritis in children.

Impacted earring clip visible on panoramic radiograph

Earrings are very popular jewelry and ear piercing is performed in very young children. Complications that have been reported in the literature are mainly dermatologic, ranging from embedded foreign body to pressure sores in the post-auricular region. During panoramic radiographic evaluation, precise examination of this area can be used to determine the presence of foreign bodies. In this case, a patient referred to our clinic with panoramic film for an impacted third molar who was not aware of an earring clip impacted in her ear lobe is presented.