A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study on Pharmacovigilance to Improve the Drug Safety in Bangladesh

Abstract

The monitoring of drug safety is a crucial element for the effective use of medicines to maintain high-quality medical care. The aim of this study was to analyze the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as well as improve drug safety through pharmacovigilance (PV) in Bangladesh. The research work was conducted on the basis of a questionnaire by taking interviews of targeted stakeholders including academicians, doctors, pharmacists, manufacturers of drugs and directorate general of drug administration (DGDA) personnel. The study was conducted on 496 participants at Dhaka Metropolitan Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna Divisions from July 2015 to June 2018. Outcomes showed that among the interviewed populations 23% were female and 77% were male. Among participants, 66.9% of the interviewee was postgraduate degree holders. 62.7% respondents were familiar with the word element PV and 37.3% were ignorant of it. The major problem of DGDA to spreading the knowledge of PV was less manpower (73.9%). Among the factors that must be stopped to avoid the ADRs were the unethical practice of the healthcare professionals (50%). The topmost prioritized component was an education for knowledge (71.4%). It was found that many of the facilities for adverse drug reaction monitoring (ADRM) were absent in Bangladesh. The manpower and strength of DGDA must be increased to perform adequate monitoring and control as per the need of the country. We recapitulate that more research and development programs on PV activities in the country to improve the quality healthcare services is needed.

Current Status of Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting by the Physicians in A Medical College Hospital

“…Knowledge regarding ADR reporting is very important for physicians. In this study 71.4% physicians knew the term Pharmacovigilance which was more and less similar to other study in Bangladesh 18 . Present study revealed 58.6% physicians were aware of existence of ADR monitoring centre in Bangladesh whereas 78% of the physicians were aware of ADR monitoring centre in West Bengal India 19 .…”

Antibiotic prescription from qualified sources for children with fever/cough: cross-sectional study from 59 low- and middle-income countries

“…According to a study done in metropolitan Bangladesh, pharmacies sell antibiotics for less money than qualified healthcare professionals. 31 , 33 Antibiotics can be more affordable from unqualified drug sellers than from qualified healthcare professionals. For instance, a study in Kyrgyzstan demonstrated that pharmacies sell antibiotics for less prices than qualified healthcare professionals.…”

Assessing the Self-reported After Events Following Immunization of COVID-19 Vaccines in Turkey and Bangladesh

“…Therefore, collecting pharmacovigilance data is critical for recognizing adverse events and comprehending their nature, frequency, and potential risk factors to the degree feasible (Hossain and Amran 2019 ). Besides, it is important to monitor side effects and perceptions following immunization in order to better understand vaccine efficacy and to combat vaccine pessimism and rumors (Sallam et al 2021 ).…”