The wide diversity of microbiota at the genera and species levels across sites and individuals is related to various causes and the observed differences between individuals. Efforts are underway to further understand and characterize the human-associated microbiota and its microbiome. Using 16S rDNA as a genetic marker for bacterial identification improved the detection and profiling of qualitative and quantitative changes within a bacterial population. In this light, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the basic concepts and clinical applications of the respiratory microbiome, alongside an in-depth explanation of the molecular targets and the potential relationship between the respiratory microbiome and respiratory disease pathogenesis. The paucity of robust evidence supporting the correlation between the respiratory microbiome and disease pathogenesis is currently the main challenge for not considering the microbiome as a novel druggable target for therapeutic intervention. Therefore, further studies are needed, especially prospective studies, to identify other drivers of microbiome diversity and to better understand the changes in the lung microbiome along with the potential association with disease and medications. Thus, finding a therapeutic target and unfolding its clinical significance would be crucial.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate Jordanian healthcare professionals’ knowledge, skills, and experience in dealing with and treating adult asthmatic patients and assess healthcare professionals’ compliance with the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guideline recommendations for asthma treatment and management in Jordan. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jordan between May and June 2023. This study included physicians, pharmacists, and nurses working in clinical settings and directly interacting with asthma patients in Jordan’s private and governmental healthcare facilities who were eligible to participate in this research. Three primary sections of an online survey were constructed using Google Forms and included demographic data, a diagnosis and management of the illness, and a list of worldwide medical references for asthma. Results: A total of 300 healthcare professionals, including pharmacists (103), nurses (87), Doctor of Pharmacy (28), and physicians (82), took part in this research. The survey respondents’ general knowledge of the nature and symptoms of asthma is quite high, exceeding 84% and 86%, respectively. The survey also showed a high degree of awareness of asthma diagnosis. It was also revealed that around one-quarter of participants consistently reported the severity of asthma. The most frequent factor influencing the decision to take controller or maintenance medicines is symptom severity (reported from 86% of participants). The GINA guidelines were selected as the asthma information source by almost half of the participants. Finally, 47% of participants were aware of the GINA’s 2019 adjustments of the recommendations. Conclusion: This study showed that Jordanian healthcare professionals understand the nature, symptoms, and diagnoses of asthma disease. However, many of the survey participants lack adherence, awareness, and understanding of the GINA recommendations about asthma management. More research is required to assess the adherence to the evidence-based recommendations and evaluate the impact of training courses.

Background: Pharmaceutical care (PC) services have expanded in recent years, resulting in improved patient outcomes. However, such PC services are currently available for free in the majority of Arabic countries. During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, telemedicine is especially beneficial since it allows for continuity of care while allowing for social distancing and minimizing the risk of infection. Objective: To assess the community’s attitude, opinion, and willingness to pay for telemedicine and PC services during COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to create a website provision for telemedicine and PC services. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted, over five months (December 2020– April 2021), among the general population in Arabic countries, excluding pharmacists, physicians, and pharmacy students. Results: A total of 1717 participants were involved, most of them were from Jordan (52.2%) and Iraq (24.8%). Sixty two percent of participants seek pharmacists’ advice whenever they have any medication changes and 45.1% of the participants agreed with the idea of paying pharmacists to decrease medication errors. Interestingly, 89.5% of participants encouraged the idea of creating a website that provides a PC, and 35.5% of them would pay for it. The failure to document the medical information of the patients had most applicants’ agreement as a reason of medical errors (M=4.17/5, SD=0.787). More than three-quarters of participants agreed that creating a database containing the patients’ medical information will reduce medical errors. Conclusion: From a patients’ perspective, this study suggests a large patient need for expanding PC services in Arabic countries and introduces a direct estimate of the monetary value for the PC services to contribute to higher savings. The majority of participants supported the idea of creating a website provision of telemedicine and PC services, and a considerable proportion of them agreed to pay for it. Pharmacy Practice is a free full-text journal with a scope on the practice of pharmacy. Pharmacy Practice covers pharmaceutical care, social pharmacy, pharmacy education, process and outcome research, health promotion and education, health informatics, pharmacoepidemiology

Purpose This randomized clinical trial (RCT) was created to assess the influence of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (VD₃), omega−3 fatty acids (n-3FA), and their combination (D+) on glycated hemoglobin (A1c) levels in Jordanian peoples with vitamin D deficiency (VDD). Participants and Methods This RCT was designed to examine the follow-up (2 months) effect of either 50,000 IU VD₃, 300 mg n-3FA, or the combination of the two supplements on glycated Hemoglobin (A1c) levels in 146 Jordanian women and men with VDD, aged from 25 to 55 years. The eligible participants were randomized into 4 groups: Control (C); VD₃ supplementation (50,000 IU of VD₃ was taken weekly) (D₃); n-3FA supplementation (300 mg of Omega-3FA was taken daily) (n-3FA); VD₃ and omega 3 supplementation group (D+) with the same protocol as the previous two groups. Results The combination therapy (n-3FA plus VD3) for 8 weeks significantly increased A1c levels (5.79±0.34 vs. 5.41±0.33, P<0.001). Tukey test for post-hoc comparisons of A1c at follow-up showed that the A1c mean levels were remarkably higher in the D+ study group comparing to the control group (5.78 vs. 5.38). Conclusion The intervention of n-3FA alone or in combination with high doses of VD₃ may lead to negative effects on glycemic control or accelerate the insulin resistance’s development in susceptible people for diabetes mellitus (type 2).

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of an online tutorial and its impact on improving knowledge and skills of pharmacy students in the clinical problem-solving process that is necessary to implement pharmaceutical care. Methods: This is a prospective interventional study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions using four novel templates. The first two levels of Kirkpatrick’s Model (Reaction and Learning) were used. Results: 129 participants completed all of the online training parts. The findings indicated a significant improvement in the students’ knowledge and skills. The participants achieved higher score following the tutorial than the baseline, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). There was a significant improvement in the number of detected treatment-related problems. The majority of students were satisfied with the overall training process and stated a high evaluation score out of 10 (mean = 7.93 ± 1.42, median = 8.00). Conclusion: The educational intervention achieved a substantial positive impact on decision-making skills of participating students and was considered effective in helping them attain basic skills such as teamwork, peer assessment, communication and critical evaluation. Healthcare providers must work together to ensure accurate medication use during care transitions. Pharmacists, as medication experts, play an important role in the implementation process. Pharmacy educators must prepare pharmacy student to use pharmaceutical care in their future practice. Pharmacy Practice is a free full-text journal with a scope on the practice of pharmacy. Pharmacy Practice covers pharmaceutical care, social pharmacy, pharmacy education, process and outcome research, health promotion and education, health informatics, pharmacoepidemiology

The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in a community-dwelling Jordanian population of geriatrics according to the 2019 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria, to identify the most used PIMs and factors independently associated with PIMs use. This was an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. The sample population included 386 participants. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews. A total of 2894 medications were evaluated. The prevalence of patients using at least one PIM was 49.2%. The most used PIMs were proton pump inhibitors (24.6%) and long-acting sulfonylurea (20.5%). Participants who had diabetes mellitus, peptic ulcer, or irritable bowel syndrome had significantly higher numbers of PIMs. The use of PIMs was high in Jordanian geriatric patients. The results of this study might help healthcare providers to detect high-risk patients and reconsider the necessity of using PIMs to decrease the risk of adverse drug events.