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Background: People with type 2 diabetes mellitus who have clinical inertia often struggle to control their blood sugar levels and do not receive timely treatment intensification. Strict glycemic control has advantages, but many patients with diabetes are unable to reach their target blood sugar levels. The study's main objective was to determine the prevalence of clinical inertia in patients with type 2 diabetes at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital(DTCSH) in Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional based, cross-sectional research design was used at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from November 20/2023 to January 30/2024. A structured questionnaire modified from various medical records and literatures were used to gather data. A logistic regression model was also employed after the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was checked to find contributing variables to clinical inertia. A threshold of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: In total, 287 samples were included in the research. The occurrences of clinical inertia 31.4% (95%CI: 25.9 - 36.8) were obtained from 90 patients. Aged patients (AOR = 1.103; 95% CI, 1.034 - 1.176; P = 0.003), medication fee (AOR = 4.955; 95% CI, 1.284 - 14.127; P = 0.020), medication nonadherence (AOR = 4.345; 95% CI, 2.457 - 15.537; P = 0.001), increase number of medication (AOR = 4.205; 95% CI, 2.657- 6.655; P ≤ 0.001), poor glycemic control (AOR = 2.253; 95% CI, 1.673 - 3.033; P ≤ 0.001) were more likely to have clinical inertia. Conclusion: One-third of patients experienced clinical inertia. Age, glycemic control, medication non-adherence, treatment fee, and number of medications were found to be strongly correlated with clinical inertia. More precise knowledge of the clinical inertia and the associated therapies is necessary to tackle this issue more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Most patients with cancer have comorbid conditions that necessitate advanced medical treatment. Polypharmacy (PP) and potentially inappropriate medicine (PIM) use is common among older adult patients with cancer. Not much research has been conducted on PP and PIM use among older adult patients with cancer in Ethiopian oncology centers. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of PP and PIM use among older adults with cancer in Northwest Ethiopia oncology centers using the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) 2019 updated Beers criteria. Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among older adult patients with cancer from July 15–December 30, 2023 in Northwest Ethiopian oncology centers. The use of at least one drug included in the 2019 Beers criteria revisions was classified as potentially inappropriate medication use. To identify the factors influencing PP and PIM use, logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Of the 310 samples aproched, 305(98.4% response rate) participated in the study. The prevalence of PP and PIM use were 70.2% (95% CI 64.9–75.1) and 63.0% (95% CI 57.4–68.8) respectively. Being female AOR:3.6; 95% CI:1.7–7.8; p = 0. 001, advanced age [(70–74 years) AOR:3.9; 95% CI:1.2–6.7; p = 0.046 and ≥75 years AOR:3.8; 95% CI:1.7–8.4; p = 0.0028], abnormal body weight (underweight AOR:5.5; 95% CI:1.5–9.6; p = 0.019, overweight AOR:5.1; 95% CI:1.5–7.3; p = 0.01 and obese AOR:5.6; 95% CI:1.5–9.3; p = 0.021) and comorbidities AOR:3.5; 95% CI:1.7–8.3; p = 0.0032 were statistically significant factors for PP. Advanced age [(70–74 years) AOR:5.5; 95% CI:1.4–9.8; p = 0.015 and ≥75 years AOR:3.3; 95% CI:1.5–7.1; p = 0.002)] and polypharmacy; AOR:7; 95% CI:3.4–9.4; p = 0.001 were statistically significant factors for PIM use. Conclusion: Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medicine use were prevalent among older adult patients with cancer. Ensuring safe medicines prescription practices for older patients with cancer requires understanding the issue, stopping unwarranted treatment, and replacing it with less toxic, age-appropriate medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-adherence to medication in patients with cardiovascular disease continues to be a main cause of suboptimal management, increased morbidity and mortality, and increased healthcare expenses. The present study assessed the level of medication adherence and its determinants of cardiovascular disease patients. Methods: An institutional-based multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted with patients with cardiovascular disease in Northwest Ethiopian teaching hospitals. The level of medication adherence was evaluated using a standardized questionnaire of the Adherence in Chronic Disease Scale (ACDS). To find determinants of the level of medication adherence, an ordinal logistic regression model was employed. Statistics were significant when P = 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: In the end, 336 participants were included in the research. According to this study, one-third of patients had low medication adherence, half had medium adherence, and one-fifth had high medication adherence. Elderly patients [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.691; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.704-4.251; P < 0.000], marital status (AOR = 1.921; 95% CI, 1.214-3.039; P = 0.005), alcoholic patients (AOR = 2.782; 95% CI, 1.745-4.435; P < 0.000), Patients without physical activity (AOR = 1.987; 95% CI 1.251-3.156; P = 0.004), non health insurances (AOR = 1.593; 95% CI 1.003-2.529; P = 0.049), sever Charles comorbidity index (AOR = 2.486; 95% CI 1.103-5.604; P = 0.028), patients with polypharmacy (AOR = 2.998 (1.817-4.947) P < 0.000) and, manypolypharmacy (AOR = 3.031 (1.331-6.898) P = 0.008) were more likely to have low medication adherence. Conclusion: The current study concluded that one-third of study participants had low medication adherence. Older age, marital status, drinker, physical inactivity, drug source, comorbidity, and polypharmacy all contributed to the low level of medication adherence. To improve patients with cardiovascular disease's adherence to their medications, intervention is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ecopharmacology, as a form of drug management for the environment, focuses on the impact of drugs on the environment. Pharmacists, and by extension pharmacy students, are expected to play an important role in ecopharmacology. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the knowledge and attitude towards ecopharmacology and the practice of disposal of leftover or expired medicines among pharmacy students.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among pharmacy students in Northwestern Ethiopia. The study took place from May 1 to June 15, 2023. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection.Results: Four hundred and forty-five students were included in the study. Only 91 (20%) of the students were aware of the term ecopharmacology, 27% knew that excretion from the human or animal body is the major route by which pharmaceutical agents enter the environment, and 42% were aware of the risk of increased antimicrobial resistance due to antibiotic residues in the environment. In addition, only 27% of respondents reported receiving information about the disposal of pharmaceuticals. The most common method of disposing of medications was throwing them away in household trash (61.8%).Conclusion: Our results suggest that while most pharmacy students in Ethiopia have a positive attitude toward ecopharmacology, they do not know enough about ecopharmacology and dispose of their medicines poorly. More uniform education in ecopharmacology and pharmaceutical pollution might be warranted in the pharmacy curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The initial response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Long-term protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection does not appear to be possible by either infection or vaccination. Thus, traditional herd immunity seems impossible. In addition to increasing vaccination rates, NPIs may be needed. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among vaccinated healthcare workers. The study took place from July 15 to August 15, 2022. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. In a multivariable logistic regression model, a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Four hundred eleven healthcare workers were included in the study. Sixty percent of participants were fully vaccinated. After vaccination, 10.2% of respondents reported infection with SARS-CoV-2. The study showed that 49.4% of participants had a good knowledge of the efficacy and safety of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, 36% of individuals adhered well to the COVID-19 prevention strategies. Good knowledge of the efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (AOR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.03– 2.78) increased the odds of implementing preventive measures. Healthcare workers who perceived a low and medium risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination and who were knowledgeable about SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections were less likely to follow preventive measures. Conclusion: The knowledge of healthcare workers regarding the efficacy and safety of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 was comparable. However, a large proportion of healthcare workers poorly adhered to prevention practices. Therefore, to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare professionals, prevention strategies must be continuously evaluated and awareness of the need for preventive measures must be raised even after vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]