Background:Underreporting of spontaneous adverse drug reaction (ADR) is a threat to pharmacovigilance. Various factors related with the knowledge and attitudes are responsible for underreporting of ADRs.Aims:The study was aimed at investigating the knowledge and attitudes of doctors to ADR reporting.Materials and Methods:It was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. One hundred and eight questionnaires were administered to doctors working in a teaching hospital with an ADR monitoring center.Statistical Analysis Used:The descriptive statistics were used for responses to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes toward ADR reporting. Pearson's Chi-square test was used to observe the association of knowledge and attitude with experience and position.Results:The response rate was 62.9%. Spontaneous reporting rate was found to be 19.1%. The major factors found to be responsible for underreporting of ADR include inadequate risk perception about newly marketed drugs (77.9%), fear factor (73.5%), diffidence (67.7%), lack of clarity of information on ADR form about reporting (52.9%), lethargy (42.7%), insufficient training to identify ADRs (41.2%), lack of awareness about existence of pharmacovigilance program (30.9%) and ADR monitoring center in the institute (19.1%), and inadequate risk perception of over-the-counter (OTC) product (20.6%) and herbal medicines (13.2%). Experience and position did not influence the knowledge and attitudes of doctors.Conclusion:The deficiencies in knowledge and attitudes require urgent attention not only to improve the rate of spontaneous reporting, but also for enhanced safety of the patients and society at large.

Objective:The aim was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of dental doctors about adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting.Materials and Methods:In a cross-sectional study, questionnaire was administered to 95 dental doctors working in a teaching dental hospital attached to a medical college with an ADR monitoring center (AMC).Statistical Analysis Used:Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses. The association of knowledge and attitude with respect to position of dentists was analyzed with Chi-square test.Results:The response rate and spontaneous reporting rate was found to be 61.0% and 13.7%, respectively. Important factors contributing to under reporting of ADRs include lack of awareness about AMC in the institute (81.0%) and pharmacovigilance program (72.4%), complacency (67.2%), lack of training to identify ADRs (65.5%), fear factor (63.7%), lethargy (58.6%), lack of risk perception of over the counter product related ADR (39.6%), inadequate risk perception of nonallopathic and herbal medicines (31%), indifference (27.5%) and concern that report may be wrong (27.5%). No significant difference in knowledge and attitudes of doctors with respect to position was found except for reporting of ADRs of newly marketed drugs and serious reactions to established product (P < 0.05).Conclusion:The deficiencies in knowledge and attitudes appear to be the underlying factor for under reporting by dental practitioners. It should be addressed urgently in order to increase spontaneous reporting by them.

subsp. strain 63 was isolated from Indian dairy products, produced a bacteriocin with broad spectrum inhibition against several of food pathogens like and as well as Gram negative bacteria viz., and strains. Bacteriocin production was higher in GM-17 and MRS as compared to TYGE broth and enriched skim milk broth and reached the maximum level during the early stationary phase. The bacteriocin was purified by performing ammonium sulfate precipitation. The bacteriocin was able to survive 90 °C/10 min but not 100 °C/10 min. Complete inactivation of bacteriocin was observed after autoclaving. The bacteriocin maintained its activity over a wide range of pH (3-9). The antimicrobial compound produced by the isolate 63, was sensitive to papain, pepsin, trypsin and amylase but was resistant to detergents like SDS and urea. Tween 20, Tween-80 as well as Triton X-100 enhanced its activity. Since the treatment with proteolytic enzymes resulted in loss of activity, this shows that the proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial substance. Tentative molecular weight of the bacteriocin was found to be between 3.5 and 5 kDa by Tricine SDS-PAGE. Finally, we confirmed the presence of gene for nisin, and the sequence thus obtained, was identical to the sequences previously described for nisin Z. subsp. 63 or its bacteriocin, which has a wide inhibitory spectrum, has the potential for use as a starter or protective culture in the manufacture of fermented products.

Introduction: A right approach to diabetes can reduce morbidity, mortality, and the burden of costs among diabetics. It is important to gather information about the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of people with diabetes to develop effective health education and diabetes control awareness programs. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted with 100 type 2 diabetics of either gender, who were admitted in the general medicine ward and consented to participate in the study. A suitable 26-item semi-structured questionnaire was designed, with "Yes" and "No" as response options. Each appropriate answer was assigned a score of 1. Results: In total, 56%, 42%, and 2% of the subjects showed a good, moderate and poor knowledge grades, respectively. Regarding attitude, 64% and 36% of the patients exhibited good and poor grades, respectively. Only 31% of the participants achieved a good practice grade, 59% secured average while 10% of them got poor grades. The overall KAP results of 43% of the patients was good, 55% scored average whereas 2% scored poor grades. Assessment of the overall KAP grade with the demographic variables showed that there is a statistically significant association of the grades with the education, occupation, and socioeconomic status (P<0.05). Conclusion: It is necessary to provide appropriate health education and individual counseling to ensure that each patient with diabetes has sufficient information and that he/she is motivated to lead a better life.

Background: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are one of the underestimated causes of morbidity and mortality. Monitoring of these ADRs is at the core of any pharmacovigilance program. ADR monitoring suffers from lack of reporting from health care personnels. Unless we know the current knowledge, attitude and practices of the budding doctors it’s difficult to design corrective measures to improve reporting. The present study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting among undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.Methods: This was a questionnaire-based, observational study. The questionnaire had six questions each pertaining to knowledge, attitude and practices of pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting. Factors discouraging ADR reporting were also studied. Descriptive statistics were carried out and one-way ANOVA was applied to find the statistical difference between the groups.Results: A total of 288 subjects were approached for the study of which 229 agreed to participate. It was observed that the knowledge of the participants regarding ADR reporting and pharmacovigilance was satisfactory. 68% of respondents felt that educational programmes have a positive effect on ADR reporting. 15% of respondents admitted of having reported an ADR. The mean scores of knowledge, attitude and practices of ADR reporting were considerably higher in postgraduates as compared to undergraduates (p-value <0.05).Conclusions: The study concluded that participants of study were aware of the importance of ADR reporting but it did not reflect in their practices. There is a need to create awareness and to educate these future physicians about Pharmacovigilance.