SummaryBackground: The complexity of pharmacotherapy is a result of a multiplicity of prescribed regimen factors, including the number of different drugs in the regimen, the number of dosage units per dose, the total number of prescribed doses per day and administration instructions. The Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI) is a specific, reliable and valid tool used to measure the complexity of pharmacotherapy, originally developed in English language.

PF of type 2 diabetic patients in community pharmacies can improve the glycaemia control of patients through optimisation of medication profiles without significant changes in either the number of drugs used or the regimen complexity.

Systematic reviews that assessed clinical pharmacy services targeting specific conditions were more conclusive given that the intervention was well defined, and the measured outcomes were unequivocal and tangible. Conversely, the results were inconclusive for interventions with a broader target and with monitoring parameters that were unclearly established or inconsistently assessed across studies. These findings emphasize the need to better define clinical pharmacy services and standardize methods that assess the impact of these services on patient health outcomes.

Em pacientes geriátricos, o uso de medicamentos leva com freqüência ao surgimento de Problemas Relacionados com Medicamentos (PRM) e exige estratégias de prevenção da morbimortalidade relacionada a esses produtos. Este estudo observacional teve por objetivo avaliar prescrições e a presença de riscos de PRM em uma instituição geriátrica. Dois farmacêuticos avaliaram esquemas farmacoterapêuticos de 76 pacientes com relação a duplicidades terapêuticas, desvios de dose, medicações inadequadas e interações medicamentosas potenciais. Os pacientes utilizavam em média 3 medicamentos, principalmente do aparelho cardiovascular (36,4%) e sistema nervoso central (47,8%). 13,5% dos medicamentos utilizados (n=230) foram considerados inadequados com riscos de PRM ligados principalmente à segurança da terapia. Foram identificadas 69 interações medicamentosas em 38 pacientes (51,3%), com manifestações ligadas principalmente à efetividade da terapêutica. Os resultados reforçam a importância da avaliação do processo de uso de medicamentos. Os dados apontam, ainda, a necessidade de aprofundamento de estudos de avaliação de riscos de PRM nessa população.

ResumoBackground: The assessment of quality of life has been considered an essential parameter in understanding the impact of arterial hypertension.Objective: To translate into portuguese, cross-culturally adapt and validate the questionnaire specific for the assessment of quality of life known as "Mini Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida en Hipertensión Arterial" (MINICHAL).Methods: Two independent translations of MINICHAL were made into brazilian portuguese. Later, these two translations were harmonized yielding a version that was back-translated into the source language. This version was revised by a committee of judges and the new version was tested in a pilot study. After the cross-cultural adaptation, the final version of the instrument was administered to a sample of 300 patients. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire such as reliability and construct validity were analyzed. The internal consistency of the instrument was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient.Results: In the brazilian version of MINICHAL, Cronbach's alpha coefficients of internal consistency reliability were 0.88 for the Mental Status domain and 0.85 for the Somatic Manifestations domain. As to content validity, the judges' assessment attained a high level of agreement (75.44%). The factor analysis confirmed both domains, with differences in one item which was included in factor 2. The control group presented significant differences relative to hypertensive patients (t=4.86, gl=276.8, p< 0.001). The instruments used to measure quality of life are useful methods of transforming subjective measurements into objective data that can be quantified and analyzed, and are also important for assessing the impact of health care interventions on patients' HRQoL 4-6 . Generic and specific questionnaires are among the instruments used to assess quality of life in patients with hypertension. Conclusion

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Background Pharmacists' counseling has improved health-related outcomes in many acute and chronic conditions. Several studies have shown how pharmacists have been contributing to reduce morbidity and mortality related to drug-therapy (MMRDT). However, there still is a lack of reviews that assemble evidence-based clinical pharmacists' counseling. Equally, there is also a need to understand structure characteristics, processes and technical contents of these clinical services. Aim of the review To review the structure, processes and technical contents of pharmacist counseling or education reported in randomized controlled trials (RCT) that had positive health-related outcomes. Methods We performed a systematic search in specialized databases to identify RCT published between 1990 and 2013 that have evaluated pharmacists' counseling or educational interventions to patients. Methodological quality of the trials was assessed using the Jadad scale. Pharmacists' interventions with positive clinical outcomes (p < 0.05) were evaluated according to patients' characteristics, setting and timing of intervention, reported written and verbal counseling. Results 753 studies were found and 101 RCT matched inclusion criteria. Most of the included RCTs showed a Jadad score between two (37 studies) and three (32 studies). Pharmacists were more likely to provide counseling at ambulatories (60 %) and hospital discharge (25 %); on the other hand pharmacists intervention were less likely to happen when dispensing a medication. Teaching back and explanations about the drug therapy purposes and precautions related to its use were often reported in RCT, whereas few studies used reminder charts, diaries, group or electronic counseling. Most of studies reported the provision of a printed material (letter, leaflet or medication record card), regarding accessible contents and cultural-concerned informations about drug therapy and disease. Conclusion Pharmacist counseling is an intervention directed to patients' health-related needs that improve inter-professional and inter-institutional communication, by collaborating to integrate health services. In spite of reducing MMRDT, we found that pharmacists' counseling reported in RCT should be better explored and described in details, hence collaborating to improve medication-counseling practice among other countries and settings.

With short-term treatment, etanercept and adalimumab had higher efficacy results; with long-term treatment, adalimumab appeared to be the most effective. Clinicians should be aware that each of the three drugs has different rates of efficacy and different safety considerations that must be taken into account when selecting the best treatment for an individual with rheumatoid arthritis.