ObjectiveThis study was conducted to assess magnitude and pattern of drug related problems among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension.ResultsThis study identified 364 drug related problems (DRPs) across the three categories of drug related problems, giving an average of 1.8 DRPs per patient. The effect of drug treatment being not optimal 179 (49.2%), untreated indication and symptoms 77 (21.1%), unnecessary drug-treatment 39 (10.7%) and adverse drug reactions 69 (19%) were the most frequent categories of DRPs identified. In general, high prevalence of drug-related problems was identified among patients with T2DM hypertension. The effect of drug treatment being not optimal, untreated indication and symptoms, unnecessary drug-treatment and adverse drug reactions were the most frequent categories of drug related problems identified. Therefore, the clinicians should work to improve patient care through prevention and resolving drug related problems since it can affect the quality of the care significantly.

Purpose Self-medication practice is often associated with irrational medication use. The aim of this study was to assess self-medication practices among community of Harar City and its surroundings, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through exit interview in selected drug outlets of Harar City among 370 clients from March to April, 2017. The data was coded and entered into epi-data and processed and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results Many participants practiced self-medication to alleviate their headache (30.30%), to treat their respiratory disorders (29.50%), and to treat their gastrointestinal disorders (27%). More than half (57.8%) of study participants declared that they were practicing self-medication due to prior experience and seeking less expensive service (20.50%). Two-fifths of them (40.3%) reported pharmacy professionals as source of information while 18.9% of respondents were advised by neighbors, friends, or relatives. About one-third (31.9%) of them did not have any source of information for self-medication practice. The most common type of drug used for self-medication by the participants was analgesic (42.2%). Approximately one-third (31.1%) of the subjects were expecting to be counseled by the pharmacy professionals about the drug side effects and to be helped in selecting their self-medication drug (30.3%). Conclusion Varieties of medications were used among study participants ranging from antipain to that of antibiotics for different complaints including headache, respiratory complaints, and gastrointestinal problems. Experience with drugs and diseases as well as affordability were frequently reported reasons for self-medication practice. Participants had different views toward the role of pharmacy professionals. Hence, it is very important to educate patients on responsible use of medications and create awareness on the role of pharmacist in self-selected medication use in community.

Background An irrational antibiotic use is a common problem in developing countries like Ethiopia, which makes empiric antibiotics use difficult. It is considered to be the greatest health problem in our time and future unless intervened. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the patterns of antibiotics use among hospitalized adult patients to pave the way for antimicrobial stewardship. Methods A hospital-based prospective observational study was conducted at Jimma Medical Center, southwestern Ethiopia, from 30 October 2020 to 29 January 2021 with 360 adult hospitalized patients participating. A semi-structured questionnaire and consecutive sampling technique was used for data collection. The data were collected through medical record reviews and patient interviews. The collected data were entered into Epi-data and exported to SPSS® version 23.0 for analysis. Days of therapy (DOT) and essential medicine lists “Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe)” antibiotics classification were used to assess antibiotic use pattern among participants. Results The majority of study participants were females (55.3%), attended formal education (59.4%), and live in rural areas (61.4%) with mean age ± (SD) of 37.65 ± (16.75). The overall rate of antibiotics consumption during the study was 111 days of therapy per 100 bed-days and about two-thirds (66%) of the prescribed antibiotics were from the “Watch” group antibiotics. The indicator level of antibiotics use for “Access” group antibiotics was 34% in this study based on the World Health Organization Essential Medicine List. Cephalosporins were the most commonly used class of antibiotics (93.9%). Conclusion Higher antibiotics exposure and their consumption frequently observed among adult hospitalized patients in the study setting. There was a rapid increase in “Watch” group antibiotics use and about two-thirds of the prescribed antibiotics were from this group. The third-generation cephalosporin were the most commonly used class of antibiotics. Generally, higher consumption and inappropriate antibiotics use among hospitalized adult patients showed the need for urgent interventions by implementing Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in hospitals.

Background Hypertensive crisis is a significant global health issue that raises the costs to healthcare systems and requires specific attention to improve clinical outcome. There is scarce information on hypertensive crisis cases treatment outcome in the study setting. Objective This study aimed to assess treatment outcome and associated factors among patients admitted with hypertensive crisis at Public Hospitals in Harar Town, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 369 hypertensive crisis patients who had been admitted to the emergency department of Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital and Jugol General Hospital from May 1, 2017, to May 1, 2022. All hypertensive crisis patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included. The data were extracted from medical records using a data abstraction format. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22. Binary logistics regression model using bivariate and multivariable analysis with 95% confidence intervals and P -values were used to determine the association between variables. Results The medical records of 369 patients in total were reviewed. Of these, the medical records of 363 patients contained all the necessary information and were used in the study. More than half of the patients (238; 65.6%) were males. Among 363 patients admitted with hypertensive crisis, 98 (27.0%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI):22.5%-31.9%) of them had poor treatment outcome of hypertensive crisis. Being female (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=3.4; 95% CI=1.7−7.9), residing in rural areas (AOR=2.4; 95% CI=2.7−5.1), taking captopril during admission (AOR=5.6; 95% CI=2.4−7.9), taking antihypertensive treatment before admission (AOR=0.5; 95% CI=0.2−0.9), and being non compliant to treatment (AOR=2.7; 95% CI=1.4−3.5) had statistically significant associations with poor treatment outcome of hypertensive crisis compared to their counterparts. Conclusion The magnitude of poor treatment outcome of hypertensive crisis was high. Sex, residence, non-compliance, and type of emergency drug administered during admission were substantially related with poor treatment outcome of hypertensive crisis. Health professionals should put great emphasis on emergency drugs administered during admission to achieve the desired outcome.

Background Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is defined as the resistance of bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal microorganisms to antimicrobial medicines that were previously effective for treatment of infectious disease. It is a major international concern in both developed and developing countries. Therefore, the aim of this review is to investigate the role of clinical pharmacists in reducing antimicrobial resistance. Methods The databases Medline, PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA), and EMBASE were searched for articles published between 1999 and 2019 that involved studies on the role of clinical pharmacists and the expanded services of clinical pharmacists in health care system and their contributions in antimicrobial use. Results Studies from different countries have demonstrated that the roles of clinical pharmacists in health care team resulting in improved clinical outcome and economic outcome. Conclusions This review highlights that integration of clinical pharmacist services in healthcare systems will assist in reducinggrowing of catastrophic AMR.