No abstract

Background: The ever-increasing impact of drugs on the environment has added an altogether new dimension of monitoring, assessing and documenting the known and unknown drug effects on our fragile environment in the form of ecopharmacovigilance. This study was carried out to document the drug disposing behavior and awareness of the concept of ecopharmacovigilance among the medical faculty of a tertiary care Medical Hospital.Methods: A detailed, structured, anonymous questionnaire consisting of both open and close ended essential queries on drug disposal practices was prepared and response obtained from the participants which included an agglomeration of teaching faculty and the clinicians of various disciplines of the Institute.Results: 97.87% of the participants obtained drugs in excess which included a majority of solid (68.12%) and liquid (31.88%) dosage forms. The maximum medicines obtained in excess included analgesics and antipyretics (89.36%), anti-asthmatics (15.22%), and anti-emetics (13.48%). 82.8% of the respondents were unaware of the proper drug disposal technique and 94.7 % of the respondents practiced open disposal of the drugs.Conclusions: An abysmally low level of awareness about ecopharmacovigilance and unhealthy, irrational method of drug disposal was documented in our study. Appropriate training of those who handle drugs in hospitals and healthcare establishments is the need of the hour.

Background: Post-stroke depression and anxiety are often ignored most common neuropsychiatric manifestations of stroke, which may significantly affect functional recovery and quality of life of the patients. Scanty data on the nature of depression and anxiety among stroke patients prompted this study. Objective: To assess the prevalence and predictors of post-stroke depression and anxiety in a tertiary care hospital in Mandya. Materials and Methods:This three months cross-sectional study evaluated and assessed 100 stroke survivors encountered at the Medicine outpatient department in a tertiary medical centre in Mandya for mental and emotional disorders using the structural interview schedule, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).Demographic and clinical data on stroke type and severity as well as health related quality of life indicators were recorded in a well-designed data collection form. Predictors of stroke-related depression were assessed. Results: The 100 patients evaluated constituted 57 males and 43 females and the mean age was found to be 52.13 ± 9.4 years. A marked difference was observed in the percentages of stroke presented with left sided hemiparesis (62%) and right sided hemiparesis (38%). Majority of the study population were comprised by occupationally semiskilled or dependent stroke survivors and those from the urban and semi-urban areas some of whom were uneducated (34%), some who have completed their primary education (35%) and others who have completed their secondary education (25%), who predominantly belonged to class IV of Modified Kuppuswamy Scale for socio-economic status. About 62% of them were diagnosed to have depression and 52% of them used alcohol and 7% of them had anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Our study concludes that post stroke depression and anxiety are more frequent in older, male patients and in those with localized stroke in the medial left hemisphere, with higher disability score.