BACKGROUND:Around the world, COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities of healthcare systems and whipped out years of progress on poverty alleviation. Nevertheless, the development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in such a short span of time is truly a triumph of science. World Health Organization (WHO) grades vaccination as "one of the most cost-effective public health interventions to date" [1] . Vaccines work in two distinct ways i.e., directly protecting the one who receives and indirectly, as the vaccinated people could not infect others subsequently. In this way a vaccine reduces the number of hospital admissions and deaths. How swiftly would this combined effect appear at a population level is determined by the duration and the scale of vaccination efforts. To achieve a population level effect of COVID-19 vaccine in a country; different approaches to vaccinate masses are under huge discussion to decide the priority population i.e., who will receive the jab first. From a youth first approach as in Indonesia to textured approaches, as in Pakistan, that prioritize the vulnerable or exposed populations i.e., elderly and healthcare professionals respectively [2] .
Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use: https://youtu.be/AP32Kh16ZpUBackground: Severe bleeding and perforation of the colon and rectum are complications of ulcerative colitis which can be treated by a targeted drug delivery system.Purpose: Development of colon-targeted delivery usually involves a complex formulation process and coating steps of pH-sensitive methacrylic acid based Eudragit ® . The current work was purposefully designed to develop dicalcium phosphate (DCP) facilitated with Eudragit-S100-based pH-dependent, uncoated mesalamine matrix tablets. Materials and Methods: Mesalamine formulations were compressed using wet granulation technique with varying compositions of dicalcium phosphate (DCP) and Eudragit-S100. The developed formulations were characterized for physicochemical and drug release profiles.Infrared studies were carried out to ensure that there was no interaction between active ingredients and excipients. Artificial neural network (ANN) was used for the optimization of final DCP-Eudragit-S100 complex and the experimental data were employed to train a multilayer perception (MLP) using quick propagation (QP) training algorithm until a satisfactory root mean square error (RMSE) was reached. The ANN-aided optimized formulation was compared with commercially available Masacol ® .Results: Compressed tablets met the desirability criteria in terms of thickness, hardness, weight variation, friability, and content uniformity, ie, 5.34 mm, 7.7 kg/cm 2, 585±5 mg (%), 0.44%, and 103%, respectively. In-vitro dissolution study of commercially available mesalamine and optimized formulation was carried out and the former showed 100% release at 6 h while the latter released only 12.09% after 2 h and 72.96% after 12 h which was fitted to Weibull release model with b value of 1.3, indicating a complex release mechanism. Conclusion: DCP-Eudragit-S100 blend was found explicative for mesalamine release without coating in gastric and colonic regions. This combination may provide a better control of ulcerative colitis.
Introduction: Metered-dose inhalers are the most widely prescribed and dispensed inhaler devices worldwide for the management of asthma. The present study aimed to access the impact of educational intervention on the competency of community pharmacists of Islamabad, Pakistan regarding the pressurized metered-dose inhaler (MDI) technique. Materials and Methods: The intervention involved educating pharmacists practically through placebo inhalers and theoretically through literature brochures; based upon the "National Asthma Education and Preventive Program" inhaler technique. A total of 100 pharmacists were recruited from the rural and urban sectors of Islamabad. A covert simulated patient approach was used to evaluate the inhaler technique of pharmacists. Type of pharmacy, education status of pharmacists and the influence of already received training on the use of inhaler devices were the factors that demonstrated a significant positive association with the competency of pharmacists. Results: McNemar test was applied for pre and post-intervention intragroup comparisons to further access categorical variables. A p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. The competency of pharmacists increased significantly from 24% before intervention to 33% after intervention (p<0.001). Conclusion: Originally, the inhaler technique competency of the majority of pharmacy professionals was observed to be inappropriate. However, the educational intervention proved to be effective in substantially enhancing the skill of community pharmacists regarding the MDI technique.
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