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Objectives:To identify and compare the prevalence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in the intensive cardiac care units (CCUs) of 2 tertiary care hospitals and analyze their association with various predictors.Methods:This one-year prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 2 tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar, Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Peshawar, Pakistan, between January 2014 to Janury 2015. The patient medication profiles from the respective CCUs were evaluated for potential DDIs (PDDIs) using Micromedex DrugReax and Drug interaction facts.Results:The prevalence of PDDIs was 96.5% and 95.7% in the 2 hospitals, with over 1200 PDDIs in total. A significant association was found between the number of prescribed drugs and PDDIs in both hospitals.Conclusion:The knowledge of PDDIs is either lacking among the clinicians or is not taken into consideration. Monitoring PDDIs and timely interventions are required to minimize the adverse outcomes.

Short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs) are high production volume persistent and toxic industrial chemicals, found ubiquitously in various environmental matrices. However, information is scarce regarding human internal exposure. The congener-specific SCCP and MCCP levels in matched maternal serum (n= 31), umbilical cord serum (n= 31), and placenta (n= 31) were studied to investigate the maternal-placenta-fetus distribution and the placental transport mechanisms of SCCPs and MCCPs. The results indicated that lower chlorinated and shorter carbon-chain CPs were efficiently transported across placenta compared to highly chlorinated and longer carbon chain CPs. Meanwhile, ∑MCCP concentration followed the order of maternal sera > placentas > cord sera. The cord/maternal concentration fraction ratios (R CM) of CPs exhibited similar values from C 10 to C 14, and then from C 15, a decreasing trend was observed with increasing carbon chain length. The log-normalized maternal SCCP concentrations were positively correlated (P < 0.01) with that in the cord, suggesting fetus exposure to SCCPs during pregnancy. Furthermore, the placenta/maternal concentration fraction ratio (R PM) values for MCCPs were relatively higher than those for SCCPs, demonstrating that MCCPs were not efficiently transported and effectively retained in placenta tissues. These findings provide a better understanding of the maternal-fetal transmission and neonatal exposure to CPs.