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Purpose: To assess the methods and practices for strengthening immunity and limiting virus spread among the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: A questionnaire was designed and distributed to the public in Jordan. Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle practices, and intakes of herbs, vitamins, diet, and medications during the COVID-19 pandemic were assessed.Results: A total of 1048 participants completed the survey, 75 % of which were females and 60 % were in the age group of 18 - 34 years. The majority (75 %) agreed that staying at home along with social distancing would be their best protective measure, combined with hygienic practices and disinfection (71 %). Ginger and mint (49 and 45 %), vitamins D and C (52 and 34 %;) were predominantly used. Of the participants, 77 and 66 %, respectively increased their consumption of citrus fruits and foods rich in vitamin C, when they experienced influenza-like symptoms, while 13 and 18 % of the participants used antibiotics and paracetamol, respectively. Moreover, 61 and 63 % of participants were aware of the guidelines on the use of antibiotics and NSAIDs for the treatment of viral infections.Conclusion: The public practices reflect the positive beliefs about lifestyle practices, and the use of herbs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and medication intake. There is a need to promote healthy practices and increase awareness of rational drug use.

Background: This study aimed to describe the situation of psychoactive substance use in Jordan during the period of 2014–2018, recorded by Anti-narcotic Department (AND).Methods: A retrospective de...

Osama Alshari,1 Yazan O Al Zu’bi,2 Ahmed H Al Sharie,2 Farouk H Wafai,2 Abdelwahab J Aleshawi,2 Farah H Atawneh,3 Hasan A Obeidat,2 Majd N Daoud,2 Mohammad Z Khrais,4 Dima Albals,5 Faize Tubaishat6 1Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan; 2Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan; 3Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan; 4Department of Internal Medicine, King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center, Amman, Jordan; 5Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan; 6Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Al Bashir Hospital, Amman, JordanCorrespondence: Osama AlshariDivision of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Science & Technology, P. O. Box: 3030, Irbid, 22110, JordanEmail osamasalshari@gmail.comObjective: Chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia is a common and serious oncological emergency which carries a substantial mortality and morbidity. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the usage of absolute monocyte count (AMC) at presentation as a prognostic factor for patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia who were subsequently treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF).Study Design: The electronic medical records of our center were used retrospectively to identify patients diagnosed with unprecedented chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia treated with G-CSF between January 2010 to December 2020 and diagnosed with solid and hematological malignancies. Patient’s demographics, disease characteristics and laboratory investigations were extracted. Disease progression measures were statistically compared between the study groups in the short-term period of follow-up (six days) including absolute neutrophil count (ANC), ANC difference compared to the baseline readings, hospitalization period, and mortality.Results: A total of 80 patients were identified and categorized into two groups namely monocytopenia (n = 34) and non-monocytopenia (n = 46) with an AMC cutoff point of 0.1× 109 cells/L. The monocytopenia group exhibited a worse prognosis with lower ANC values and slower improvement illustrated by the low ANC difference values at all follow up points (P-value ≤ 0.05) apart from day 5. A statistically significant lower hospitalization period was also observed in the non-monocytopenia group (P-value = 0.006). Linear regression analysis evaluated the association between AMC values at admission and ANC values at admission along with subsequent days of follow up which were found to be statistically significant (P-value ≤ 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curves suggest a satisfactory predictability of ANC changes by AMC values at admission, days1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.Conclusion: Monocytopenia holds a worse prognosis in chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia patients treated with G-CSF. In addition, AMC values at presentation represents a potential risk factor that can predict short-term changes regarding ANC measures.Keywords: febrile neutropenia, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, G-CSF, chemotherapy, absolute monocyte count, monocytopenia, absolute neutrophil count

Objective: Taxane-induced nail changes are considered as an important cosmetic manifestation with an incidence that reaches up to 44% of patients treated with taxane-included therapeutic regimens. In this article, we represent a clinical observational study to evaluate the effect of cosmetic nail lacquer on taxane-induced nail changes in female patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods: Prospectively, we identified those women who were diagnosed with breast cancer, scheduled to have AC-Taxol protocol. Any female with previous dermatological or systemic disorders that affect nails was excluded from the study. Patients were categorized into 2 groups based on the utilization of nail lacquer. The first group includes women who started to use the nail lacquer after development of nail changes. The second group comprises those women who did not use the nail lacquer at any occasion. Results: A total of 59 female patients were included in the study; 46 (78%) of them developed nail changes and the main change was nail discoloration. The first group which has used nail lacquer (17, 28.8%) showed an improvement among 15 (78.9%) patients, whereas 2 (7.4%) of them continued to have worsening symptoms. On the contrary, most of the second group (25, 92.9%) did not show any improvement in nail changes. A statistical significance between the tested groups was observed ( P = .000). There is no statistical association between the progression of nail changes and the age of patients. Conclusions: Taxane-induced nail changes are considered as an important clinical, cosmetic, and psychological complication, especially for female patients with cancer. This article suggests that nail lacquer may have an effect in the improvement of nail changes, especially nail discoloration. Further investigations are recommended to prove the efficacy of nail lacquer.

The Pharmacy One™ Poising Call Center (P1PCC), located in Amman, Jordan, was created to address deficiencies identified by the pharmacy service, including in the management of poisoning cases. The aims of this study were to analyze the patterns of poisoning cases reported to the P1PCC and to describe the role of the P1PCC pharmacist in ensuring preparedness and managing the response to poisoning cases. In addition, the information from these interventions was used to survey human poisoning in Jordan. This is a retrospective descriptive study of acute poisoning incidents in the Jordanian population, as recorded by the P1PCC during the period 2014‐2018. Inquiries received by the P1PCC were recorded on a predesigned form. The year, patient demographics, toxic agent involved, and circumstances of the poisoning event were all fully documented utilizing Oracle and Excel spreadsheets. A total of 1992 poisoning incidents were reported to the P1PCC, predominately (68.59%) via 911 phone calls. Reports were predominantly from males (1.67:1). Children were the second most common age group after adolescents (22.62% and 42.49%, respectively). The most frequent causative nonpharmaceutical agents were household products (17%) in preschool children and animal bites (20%) in adolescents. Most of the poisoning incidents (74.63%) occurred at home. Unintentional poisoning (54.12%), with mild medical outcomes (61.45%), accounted for most of the poisoning incidents caused by exposure to household products. These data may represent the most recent picture of poisoning incidents in Jordan. Emergency medical services were provided by experienced pharmacy practitioners at the P1PCC, to respond to emergency needs in the community in a professional manner. Therefore, the need for unnecessary hospitalization and the cost of ambulance dispatch were minimized, which are highly valuable outcomes.