Methadone maintenance treatment is proven to be effective treatment for opioid dependence. Of the many adverse events reported, sexual dysfunction is one of the most common side effects. However, there may be other clinical factors that are associated with sexual dysfunction among methadone users. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the clinical factors associated with sexual dysfunction among male patients on methadone and buprenorphine treatments, of which eligible studies were selected using prior defined criteria. A total of 2619 participants from 16 eligible studies, published from inception till December 2012, were identified from the PubMed, OVID and EMBASE databases. The included studies provided prevalence estimates for sexual dysfunction among methadone users with a meta-analytical pooled prevalence of 52% (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.39-0.65). Only four studies compared sexual dysfunction between the two groups, with a significantly higher combined odds ratio in the methadone group (odds ratio=4.01, 95% CI, 1.52-10.55, P=0.0049). Our study shows that eight clinical factors are associated with sexual dysfunction among men receiving opioid substitution treatment, namely age, hormone assays, duration of treatment, methadone dose, medical status, psychiatric illness, other current substance use and familial status, and methadone versus buprenorphine treatment. Despite the methodological limitations, the findings of this meta-analysis study may offer better insights to clinicians in dealing with both sexual dysfunction and its related problems.

An exploratory study to ascertain the public's awareness of community pharmacy and pharmacists in a selected subset of the Malaysian population was undertaken, utilising an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire approach. A total score was computed for each respondent, ranging from a possible minimum of 0 and a maximum of 24. The scores achieved were arbitrarily categorised into poor (<11), fair (11 -14), good (15 -19) and excellent (>19) levels of general knowledge regarding community pharmacy and pharmacists. The scores achieved ranged from 3 to 21, with an average "fair" score of 13.7. The results showed that 93.6% of the respondents (n = 561) interviewed had heard of the term "pharmacist" before. Interestingly, 17.5% of the respondents were of the opinion that pharmacists worked on farms. A significant 77.4% perceived that a pharmacist served in a doctor's clinic. It was noted that 84.1% of those surveyed would go to doctors for advice on medicine, while only 49.4% would seek a pharmacist. A majority (76.7%) of the respondents interviewed chose to go to a doctor's clinic for a screening test. The study amplifies the need for a more aggressive projection of the pharmacist's image in the community in order to be recognized and accepted by the public as an integral partner in the health care profession.

The study was cross sectional study. The patients were randomly selected by taking the 6th patient in the treatment / dispensing queue, to participate in the study. 25 patients per day were randomly selected out of the 98 patients who were receiving chemotherapy. The study population was of 385 patients . Results: The cost of medicines supplied by government, donations and out of pocket cost were Shs. 103,000,000 (€ 26,410), Shs.153,000,000 (€ 39,230) and Shs.30,700,000 (€ 7,871) respectively. The proportions of the frequency of out-of-pocket costs were found to be 109 (28.3%), donations was found to cover 24 (6.2%) and government was found to be 357 (92.7%) of the medicines used at the Uganda Cancer Institute. ConClusions: The cost of donated medicines is high. It serves a small number of patients who seek care. While Uganda Cancer Institute dispenses cancer medicines to all patients free of charge, low availability leads to patients to purchase medicine in private Pharmacies. Some medicines cost a lot of money, leading to high patients' expenditure and some patients do not buy at all. Progress will require a multi-faceted approach, as well as review of policies and regulations in place that focus on the availability and accessibility of cancer medicines in Uganda.

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