In developing economies, expenses of healthcare delivery have risen disproportionally to the monetary backing supplied by the federal government. However, issues relating to inventory control alongside regulating the pharmaceutical market have been recognized. We conducted a systematic categorization based on ABC and VEN analysis for available drugs at Can Tho Dermatological Hospital (CTDH) from 2016–2020, thereby making evidence-based recommendations for public authorities to attain rationality in monitoring the stock supply network. Results revealed that ratio of Category I with the highest cost and importance to the annual revenues was barely 88%. Meanwhile, fractions of Category II and III to the overall expenses were 5–10% and below 5%, respectively. Given scarce funds, it is crucial that Essential drugs be utilized effectively. Thanks to ABC-VEN integrated matrix, we uncovered medicines for which significant savings could be achieved. This method has proven to be a powerful tool in decision-making for importation and stockholding.

Background Infectious diseases, especially those caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, are becoming a serious problem worldwide because of the lack of effective therapeutic agents. Moreover, most antifungal drugs exhibit low efficacy and high toxicity because of the similarity between fungal and human cells. These issues warrant the search for potential new agents. Objectives To synthesize potent 2-(2-iodophenylimino)-5-arylidenethiazolidin-4-one derivatives, improve the synthetic process, elucidate their structures, and determine their antimicrobial activity. Methods 2-Iodoaniline was used as an initial reactant in a 3-step process for the synthesis of 2-(2-iodophenylimino)-5-arylidenethiazolidin-4-one derivatives, including an acylation reaction, a cyclization reaction, and aldol condensation reactions. The structures of the obtained derivatives were investigated and elucidated using spectral methods. Antimicrobial activity toward 5 bacterial strains and 2 fungal strains was determined using Kirby–Bauer and agar dilution methods. Results We successfully synthesized 12 novel compounds and elucidated their structures. The derivatives had no antifungal activities. By contrast, they showed remarkable antibacterial activities. Some of them with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ≤8 μg/mL in both Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Conclusions A simple and flexible way to synthesize new compounds with a thiazolidin-4-one ring was determined. Some of these new compounds have outstanding effects with low MICs for bacteria. Their further investigation as therapeutic agents is warranted.

Background: The wide and prolonged use and abuse of antibiotics in livestock and poultry farming, aquaculture, and farming to treat and prevent animal diseases, as well as production purposes, made microorganisms adapt to drugs, facilitate the resistance of many types of antibiotics, and decrease the effectiveness of medicines. Objective: To assess the counseling skills of community pharmacists for antibiotics by using the simulated patient approach. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2021 to June 2022. Data were obtained from a convenience sampling consisting of one pharmacist from each of the 24 participating community pharmacies. To evaluate the pharmacists’ counseling skills, a simulated patient role played a standardized headache case requesting self-medication. The interactions of the simulated patient with the pharmacists were audiovisually recorded using a hidden micro-camera. These recordings were analyzed using a questionnaire designed based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization on the rational and safe use of drugs. Results: 100% of pharmacy retailers sold medicines at clients’ request, 26.7% of the pharmacies and 15.8% of pharmacy counters selling antibiotics for more than 5 days. None of the visited pharmacies asked about past medical history or the history of allergic reactions. The most common advice was to change medicines/use others (n=22, 18.3%). Around 4.2% of pharmacy staff gave instructions for taking the right dose of antibiotics. No simulated patient received information on side effects. The number of pharmacists who gave instructions for the number of drugs used per day (n=40, p<0.05) and for a single dose (n=44, p<0.05) were fewer than the others. Conclusion: This study showed that the pharmacists’ counseling skills, guidance provided by the pharmacists to the patient, and training courses for community pharmacists in Vietnam should be enhanced.

Background: Antibiotics administered incorrectly may result in detrimental consequences, such as prolonging treatment duration, causing adverse effects, or even increasing mortality. Similar to surrounding underprivileged urban medical institutions, the Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) at Phong Dien district's health center (PDHC) is still struggling to attain rationality in keeping track of and evaluating hospital medication formularies. It is commonly believed that these lists directly impact the DTC's decisions on drug selection, distribution, and order for supply, as well as other inventory issues such as assuring quality and minimizing extra expenses. Objectives: The research aimed to examine the characteristics of the antibiotics list utilized at PDHC in 2019. Methods: From January to December 2019, we investigated 99 different medicines from 8 different antibiotic families in retrospective research. The acquired data were analyzed statistically using descriptive analysis. Results: Foreign medications accounted for 19.3% of pharmaceutical expenditure, whereas domestic medicine accounted for 80.7%. Regarding route of administration, ratios of oral medicines dominated others in quantity and cost (67.67% and 82.73%, respectively). It also revealed that 97.27% of the inventory budget was spent on generic medications compared to under 3% of brand-name ones. Additionally, single-component products (78.79% of items and 71.65% of total expense) were used more often than those with multicomponents. β-lactam was the most widely utilized group among the 8 studied groups, which accounted for 72.61% of the monetary allocation. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the use of antibiotics at the center was relatively adequate and followed the principle of drug consumption by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in drug utilization and prescription of antibiotics.

What drives the intention to dispense ETC medications without prescription across community pharmacists in Can Tho city, Viet Nam? -A theory-based cross-sectional analysis.