Current Drug Safety - Volume 18, Issue 2, 2023

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is marked by infodemic amid conspiracy theories, false claims, rumors, and misleading narratives, which have had a significant impact on the global campaign against COVID-19. The drug repurposing provides a hope to curb the growing encumbrance of the disease but at the same time, it poses various challenges such as selfmedication using repurposed drugs and its as Read More

Background: As a medical problem, hypertension is one of the most common disorders in cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure has been identified as one of the most familiar risk factors for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We planned to explore the possible interactions between anti-hypertensive agents and drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 with broad investigations of these medications' mechanism of action and adve Read More

There is a growing awareness of a disease at many levels, its treatment, and treatment outcomes including side effects. Alternative therapy techniques, herbal medicines and formulations are extensively acknowledged and practiced in India and around the world. Herbal medicine is usually considered being safe regardless of the absence of scientific evidence to support its claims. Several issues concerning the metho Read More

Skin cancer is a life-threatening disease and has caused significant loss to human health across the globe. Its prevalence has been increasing every year and is one of the common malignancies in the case of organ transplant recipients, of which 95% constitute basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. The prime factor causing skin cancer is UV radiation. Around the 20th century, sunlight was the primary cause of skin canc Read More

Objective: Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) is an important treatment modality for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, treatment with IFN-α is often associated with cognitive difficulties in HCV patients. Thus, this systematic review was performed to assess the effects of IFN-α on cognitive functioning in patients suffering from HCV. Methods: Relevant literature was identified by performing a comprehensive literature search i Read More

Background: Per oral methadone maintenance therapy [MMT] was introduced as part of harm reduction strategy to manage rising numbers of HIV infections caused by intravenous use of illicit drugs. Method: We aim to review published articles related to the side effects of long-term methadone therapy, focusing on hematological derangements in human studies published between 1 January 2000 till 31 January 2021. Results: Our Read More

Background: Cancer patients are more vulnerable to developing drug-drug interactions as multiple medications are administered concomitantly with cytotoxic agents to treat the underlying comorbidities. These drug-drug interactions often receive less medical attention and consequently are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Objective: We intended to comprehensively characterize the drug-drug interactions among a Read More

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among pregnant women and pediatric patients are a significant public health concern. ADRs monitoring and documentation are considered essential practices to decrease the chances of ADRs and ensure the safe use of drugs. Objective: Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate the pattern of adverse drug reactions among pregnant women and pediatric patients in Read More

Background: The practice of disposing expired or unused medications by different households is generally not considered and is largely neglected. Objective: The study was carried out to determine the disposal practices regarding expired and unused medications in rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: The study was conducted by interviewing different households and students (rural areas) from different universities i Read More

Background: Occurrence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in COVID-19 patients has not been extensively studied. Aim: The present study was conducted to analyze the pattern of suspected ADRs in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the individual case study reports of patients admitted to the COVID ICU (August-October 2020) were analyzed for type of ADRs, system invol Read More

Background: Chronic infection with HCV is progressive worldwide health problem and the core reason for liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, or hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV-G4 represents the most common threat to transplantation of the liver in Egypt. New interferon-free regimens have been started consuming direct-acting antiviral oral tablets for HCV cure. Objectives: In the current study, comparing the safety and effic Read More

Introduction: Drymaria cordata (Linn.) Willd is a creeping herb belonging to the Caryophyllaceae family, widely used as a traditional medicine in Africa and North-east India for various ailments. Many therapeutic applications of D. cordata have been reported in various scientific studies, but the teratogenicity study of this herb has not been documented till now. Methods: The present study aimed to assess the developmental t Read More

Background: Self-medication has both negative and beneficial effects on people's health, as the COVID-19 epidemic has demonstrated. The goal of the study is to look into the epidemiology of self-medicated medications used for respiratory symptoms, as a COVID-19 preventive, for its symptoms, or after a positive COVID-19 test, and to see how symptom relief is viewed in India, as well as what demographic factors enc Read More

Background: The practice of self-medication appears to be much more rampant during the- COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, awareness about its consequences is essential among the general population during the current circumstances. Objectives: To study the prevalence of and perception towards self-medication, as well as its determinants among the general population of Mangalore. Methods: This cross-sectional study wa Read More

Background: Despite being the oldest therapy for heart failure, the use of digoxin is still controversial due to the narrow margin of safety. In Indonesia, digoxin is still considered one of the treatments for heart failure. However, analysis of intoxication has never been reported. This study aims to analyze the occurrence of digoxin intoxication, rate of rehospitalization and one-year survival in heart failure patients under digo Read More

Background: Adverse drug events (ADE) and medication errors (ME) provide large numbers of victims. Older people are more susceptible to these events, due to the continuing search for several chronic degenerative disease treatments. The Third Global Patient Safety Challenge announced the objective of reducing unnecessary polypharmacy, encouraging deprescription, and aiming to ensure the prescription of medications in a Read More

Introduction: Liposomal amphotericin B is a widely used broad-spectrum antifungal drug. It was developed to reduce nephrotoxicity and maximize the therapeutic utility of amphotericin B in the treatment of invasive fungal infections. Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a severe drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome commonly associated with aromatic antiepileptic drugs. Liposomal amph Read More

Background: Acenocoumarol is an anticoagulant with numerous drug reactions. We report here, an unusual interaction between acenocoumarol and azathioprine. Case Presentation: A 35-year-old woman, treated with acenocoumarol for thrombosis of the superior mesenteric vein, was prescribed azathioprine for Crohn’s disease. Three days later, INR values decreased from 2.36 to 1.48. The dose of acenocoumarol had Read More