This study investigated outpatient prescription medicines use in primary health care institutions to evaluate the impact of the essential medicines policy on rational medicines use. Data were collected from primary health care institutions in 4 province-level areas of different socioeconomic status in China. Around the policy implementation, the numbers of various medicines used per prescription were compared by t test and 1-way analysis of variance, and the proportions of prescriptions with antibiotics, injections, or hormones were compared by chi-square test. After the policy implementation, the numbers of all medicines and antibiotics used per prescription dropped, and the number of essential medicines used per prescription increased in all 4 areas. The percentage of prescriptions with injections declined in all 4 areas, but the percentages of prescriptions with antibiotics or hormones witnessed different status in different areas. To a certain degree, the essential medicines policy in China has taken effect on rational medicines use but needs development.
Background: This study aimed to compare the risks for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) between traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and
Western medicines (WMs).
Materials and Methods: A comprehensive review of ADR cases reported in the Chinese-language literatures from January 2006 to December
2011 was conducted to identify the frequency, severity and hazard of ADRs associated with TCMs and WMs. Sort ratio (SR) was employed to
compare the ranking of TCMs and WMs. SR>1 when WMs ranked higher than TCMs. For group comparisons, nonparametric Mann-Whitney
test was used whenever possible.
Results: A total of 5097 cases were induced by 212 TCMs and 908 WMs according to 3842 reports in the final full-text analysis. In the
comparisons for the entire study group, as well as groups by pharmacology category and administration route, most WMs ranked higher than
TCMs in occurring frequency, severity and hazard caused by ADRs. The results showed the adverse effects from Chinese medicines were
comparatively rare and the risks caused by them were milder than by western medicine-related ADRs.
Conclusion: This study concluded by indicating that TCMs were safe in clinical practice compared with WMs, though not risk free.
Improvements in quality control and in the training and regulation of practitioners could substantially reduce the already low incidence of
problems involving TCMs.
Background: People who have attempted suicide are at high risk of further suicide attempts. Telephone-delivered interventions have merits of easily accessible and costeffectiveness, and may be useful in follow-up management of suicide attempters. Objective: To assess the efficacy of telephone-delivered interventions for preventing suicide re-attempts in suicide attempters. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO to April 2014. This review included randomized controlled trials comparing telephone-delivered interventions for preventing suicide re-attempts with usual care in suicide attempters. Studies which used phones for calling or messaging or as a part of their intervention were included. But studies which are unclear whether they used phones were excluded. Two independent reviewers appraised study quality and extracted data. Results: Out of 142 studies, 7 studies were included in this review. Studies had good methodological quality features, and were categorized as telephone contact (n ¼ 3), crisis card which enable 24-hour crisis telephone consultation (n ¼ 2), mixed (phone plus other interventions) (n ¼ 2). Meta-analyses found that telephone contact did not significantly reduce proportion of repeaters (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.07), deaths by suicide (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.12 to 4.16), and losses to follow-up (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.68 to 1.08) during the following year. One of the telephone contact studies proved effect in psychological symptom. Crisis card showed no significant effect on proportion of repeaters (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.54). Although mixed interventions were not effective in repeated suicide attempt, one of them was effective in suicidal ideation and depression. Discussion: There was little evidence that telephonedelivered interventions can effect in suicide attempters. Most of included studies provided brief and a few times interventions, so more aggressive interventions are required. Conclusion: Telephone-delivered interventions may have a role in reducing suicidal ideation, depression, and psychological symptom, but there is a need for more research because current evidence is scarce.
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