Background: The plant Olax subscorpioidea Oliv (Olacaceae) is a shrub that is widely available in Africa. It has been used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases including asthma, pain, inflammation, gastrointestinal and central nervous system (CNS) disorders, cough, diabetes mellitus, cancer, infectious diseases, hepatic diseases, and many other diseases. Several phytochemical and pharmacological investigations were conducted on this plant. However, comprehensive information on this medicinally important plant is not available in the literature. Therefore, in this review, we aimed to provide comprehensive and critical information on all the reported ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and potential toxicity of Olax subscorpioidea to highlight its therapeutic potentials based on traditional usage and identify research gaps as a basis for further investigations to develop novel therapeutic compounds. Main body: The available information about the plant was retrieved from the online bibliographic databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) and published PhD dissertation using the search terms Olax subscorpioidea, traditional uses, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and safety. Phytochemical studies have shown that the plant contains several bioactive compounds such as rutin, morin, quercetin, caffeic acid, santalbic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, squalene, nonacosane, hentriacontane, and many more compounds. Also, pharmacological investigations revealed that Olax subscorpioidea has antidepressant, antiepileptic, anti-Alzheimer’s, cytotoxic, antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic, analgesic, antiinflammatory, antiarthritic, antidiabetic, anticancer, antiulcer, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, apoptotic, antiprotease, and other CNS effects. Conclusion: Several pharmacological studies on Olax subscorpioidea have established its ethnopharmacological uses. However, there are limited phytochemical and pharmacological studies to validate other folkloric claims of the plant. Therefore, extensive phytochemical and further pre-clinical efficacy and safety evaluations to fully establish its therapeutic potentials and elucidate its mechanisms of pharmacological actions could be necessary. Graphical

Background: The review of pharmacoepidemiologic and drug utilization studies on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has indicated widespread and clinically significant inappropriate prescribing in twelve (12) Middle East countries and territories. This calls for urgent and continuous pharmacovigilance to restore the rational use of NSAIDs in the region. Objective: The objective of this study is to provide a critical appraisal of the prescription patterns of NSAIDs in the Middle Eastern region. Methods: A literature search was conducted on the electronic databases such as MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect for studies conducted on prescription pattern of NSAIDs using the

The adverse events (AEs) of repurposed drugs used in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) bear a challenge in clinical practice, even though the safety profiles of these drugs are quite known for primary indications. Since it is a new virus, post-marketing surveillance of drugs’ safety is of utmost clinical significance. This review aimed to investigate the patterns, incidence, and frequency of AEs of COVID-19 medications and vaccines and to explore the relationship between the occurrence of AEs and characteristics of COVID-19 patients, such as age, gender, and comorbidities. A literature search was conducted on electronic databases like MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect for studies conducted on the AEs of drugs and vaccines used against COVID-19. The study found that prescription drugs for COVID-19 most commonly cause gastrointestinal symptoms, while some were associated with more severe liver, kidney, and cardiac manifestations. AEs varied among individuals, especially in elderly people with comorbidities. The known side effects of steroids and azithromycin including psychosis and prolongation of QT interval were also found to be prevalent when used in COVID-19 patients. Serious AEs such as multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and septic shock were commonly reported among patients who required invasive ventilation. AEs reports for newly formulated vaccines showed general safety with the majority being local complaints. The reported AEs ranged from mild to severe, including MODS. Factors such as old age and comorbidities were found to be risk factors for a higher potentiality of AEs. Further studies are needed to draw evidence-based conclusions.

Background: Pharmacometabonomics is a new approach developed in the delivery of personalized medicine to improve optimal drug efficacy and safety to patients. We summarized the literature regarding the application of pharmacometabonomics in neurology. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of the literature using Medline via PubMed, from the inception of the database to April 2020. Other articles were searched from the manual search of the included articles. Other information was retrieved from Google Scholar. Data from the included articles were reviewed and summarized based on neurological disorder/drug, experiment employed and clinical application. Results: The search of the literature generated 258 articles, of which 10 were included for review based on the selection criteria. The review of the literature demonstrates that pharmacometabonomics has been used in the prediction of drug efficacy, adverse drug events, and metabolisms in neurological toxicity, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, major depressive and bipolar disorders. The commonly employed pharmacometabonomics methods were liquid chromatography coupled with electrochemical coulometric, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and gas chromatography. Conclusion: Earlier evidence has demonstrated that pharmacometabonomics has the potential of improving drug safety in neurology, through the delivery of personalized medicine. Therefore, more studies are needed to explore its clinical applications in other areas of neurology for optimal outcomes.

Objective: To identify the incidence of medication errors in a tertiary care hospital and to document the role of drug information centre to prevent such errors. Methods:The retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and comprised a review of secondary data collected from the Drug Information Centre from March 2013 to February 2016. The errors were categorised as prescribing, dispensing, administrating and transcription, while the received inquiries were classified according to the inquirer; physicians, pharmacists and nurses. The score was given according to the Grade of Severity scale. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 20. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Categorical variables were presented as frequency and percentage. Results:Among the 2800 drug-related inquiries received, 238(8.5%) medication errors were detected. The inquirers of these queries included 108(45.4%) nurses. Administration errors were the highest 113(47.5%), while the least were transcription errors 31(13%). Majority of errors were committed by nurses 113(47.5%). Grade 2 errors were the most common 86(36.10%), while grade 4 life-threatening errors were minimal 2(0.8%). There were significant differences in the number of received questions based on the speciality (p<0.05), staff having committed the error (p<0.01) and the type of errors detected (p<0.01). Conclusion: The prevalence of medication errors committed by healthcare providers was high.