BackgroundThe prevalence and impact of antimicrobial “allergy” labels and Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) on antibiotic usage and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives is ill defined. We sought to examine the rate of antimicrobial “allergy labels” at our tertiary referral centre and impacts on antimicrobial usage and appropriateness.MethodsTwo inpatient antimicrobial prevalence surveys were conducted over a 1-week period in November 2013 and 2014 as part of the prospective National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey (NAPS). Post survey, patients recorded in the NAPS database were assigned to two groups based upon recorded antimicrobial “allergy label” and ADR: (i) Antimicrobial Allergy/ADR (AA) or (ii) No Antimicrobial Allergy/ADR (NAA). Antimicrobial usage and antimicrobial appropriateness were compared between AA and NAA groups.ResultsFrom 509 identified patients the prevalence of an antimicrobial allergy or ADR was 25 %. The prevalence of “allergy labels”/ADR was 10 % (51/509) for penicillin V/G, 5 % (24/509) cephalosporins, 4 % (22/509) trimethroprim-sulfamethoxazole and 3 % (17/509) aminopenicillins. One thousand and seventy antimicrobials were prescribed during the study periods, the median antimicrobial duration was longer in the AA versus NAA group (6 days vs. 4 days; p = 0.018), and proportion of inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing higher in the AA group compared with NAA (29 %; 35/120 vs. 23 %; 86/367, p = 0.22). Oral antimicrobial administration was higher in the NAA than AA group (60 %; 177/297 vs. 46 %; 356/793, p = 0.0001). The proportion of patients that received a β-lactam was lower in the AA versus NAA group (60 % vs. 79 %, p = 0.0001).ConclusionsIn an Australian tertiary referral centre an antimicrobial “allergy” or ADR label was found to significantly impacted on rate of oral antimicrobial administration, beta-lactam usage, antimicrobial duration and antimicrobial appropriateness.
Background Robust human data on medication use during lactation is scarce. With increasing medication use in postpartum women, it is important to conduct clinical lactation studies measuring the excretion of drugs in human milk and generate evidence. We plan to conduct a clinical lactation study, involving the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Objective This study aimed to identify factors influencing lactating women’s clinical trial participation and to improve the design of a proposed DOACs clinical lactation study. Setting Lactating women in London, UK. Methods Three focus groups were conducted in lactating women with differing experiences of being prescribed anticoagulants during puerperium. Main outcome measures Thematic framework approach was used to analyse and identify key themes, using NVivo version 11. Results Eight breastfeeding mothers participated. Women’s decision-making on clinical trial participation was largely influenced by the lactation stage and previous breastfeeding experience. The concern of harm to their infant caused by the test medication or interruption of lactation were the predominant barriers to potential participation. Around 6 months following the birth of their infant and second-time mothers appeared to be more amenable to clinical trial participation. The provision of home visits for the execution of the study was highly recommended. Conclusion Our findings suggest that lactating women would participate in a clinical trial during the breastfeeding period, if the timing is right and if the woman is an experienced mother. Home visits will be provided in our proposed DOACs clinical lactation study.
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The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Consultation Model for Adherence conceptualises the consultation process specific to patient adherence. It can be used to improve patient persistence with treatment by TCM practitioners and possibly other health professionals. The aim of this research was to determine the applicability of the TCM Consultation Model for Adherence in the wider complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) setting. A survey containing validated questionnaires and items developed specifically to test the model was administered online in the United Kingdom. SPSS 25 was used to perform Spearman’s correlations and Mann–Whitney U tests on the data. In total, 101 patients completed the survey. The results showed that patients having a therapeutic relationship and trusting in their practitioner was associated with overall adherence to CAM, while patients feeling supported was associated with all types of adherence to CAM. Specific behaviours of the TCM Consultation Model for Adherence that were positively correlated with adherence to CAM were identified. They could potentially be used by CAM practitioners to improve their patients’ adherence with treatment.
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