Background and Objectives. The drugs most commonly implicated in major potential interactions are those used in the day-to-day clinical management of elderly patients with chronic diseases. This study is planned to evaluate the profile of drug-drug interactions in the medications prescribed to elderly population and also to identify the possible predictors for potential drug-drug interactions in the elderly. Methods. This cross-sectional study included patients aged above 60 years with a minimum of two drugs in the prescriptions. Data were collected from medical prescriptions and patients' medical records. The data collected included demographic characteristics such as age, gender, height, weight, educational status, socioeconomic status, medical history, and medications prescribed. The prescriptions were analyzed for the potential drug interactions using Lexi-Interact™ Online, an online software to check drug-drug interactions. Results. A total of 209 patients were included in the study, among them 104 (49.8%) were males and 105 (50.2%) were females. The mean number of medications received was 6.53 ± 2.15 per prescription. Around 138 (66%) patients received more than six medications. The mean number of potential drug interactions seen in the prescription of these patients was 3.17 ± 2.78. Around 18.2% patients had more than five drug interactions. Major drug interactions were observed in 21.42% of cases. Around 3.02% of drug interactions belonged to risk category X, i.e., to be avoided. Logistic regression analysis showed that age above 70 years was associated with the presence of drug interactions. Increased number of medication was independently associated with the occurrence of drug interactions. The presence of drug interactions was not associated with increased number of comorbidities. Conclusion. A significant number of potential drug-drug interactions were seen in the prescriptions of elderly patients. Increasing age and polypharmacy were identified as the predictors of potential drug interactions.

Secukinumab is an anti-interleukin (IL)-17A IgG1-κ monoclonal antibody approved for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. Its efficacy is well documented, but the complete safety profile of secukinumab, especially on long-term use, needs to be studied. IL-17 inhibitors increase the risk of infections, especially respiratory tract infections and candidiasis, and inflammatory bowel disease; the causal relationships are well described. However, evidence regarding the other adverse events is scarce, and causal associations between the adverse events and the biologic remain unresolved. This review aims to present a narrative perspective on the safety of secukinumab and identify some key areas where the safety of secukinumab may potentially be useful in understanding the scope of secukinumab therapy and making informed clinical decisions.

Background and Objectives. The objective was to study the adverse drug reaction (ADR) profile in HIV patients receiving first-line antiretroviral therapy. Methods. This was a prospective, observational study that included 171 HIV patients with a follow-up at six months. Demographic details, medical history, details of HIV infection including most recent CD4 count, details of antiretroviral therapy, and other concomitant medication were recorded. Adverse drug reactions were elicited by reviewing patient records and also by interviewing the patient/attendants directly. Results. 171 patients completed the study out of which 88 (51.5%) were males and 83 (48.5%) were females. The study subjects included HIV-positive, treatment naïve patients who were started on treatment regimens recommended by the NACO guidelines. The ADRs observed were a fall in haemoglobin or absolute anaemia in response to zidovudine, nonspecific symptoms like headache, and a nonspecific feeling of being unwell in response to tenofovir, stavudine, and efavirenz; dyslipidaemia, pancreatitis, peripheral neuropathy, and lactic acidosis in response to stavudine; generalised rash in response to nevirapine and one case of nephrotoxicity to efavirenz. Majority of the ADRs satisfied the ‘probable’ category (60.1%), and the rest were “possible”. ADRs to zidovudine and nevirapine superseded all others. Interpretation and Conclusion. Gastrointestinal effects were the most commonly observed group of ADRs, with nausea being the most common ADR, the others being gastritis and diarrhoea. The other ADRs included rash, hepatotoxicity, blood dyscrasias like anaemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia, and fatigue. Few cases of lactic acidosis, peripheral neuropathy, headache, lipoatrophy, and pancreatitis were reported.

Background Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the cornerstone of management of patients with HIV, and a strict adherence to the same is of utmost importance in success of therapy. Treatment in most cases, once started has to be taken life-long, and hence compliance can be an issue. With newer once-a-day regimens, there could be a positive impact on both the adherence to the treatment and the quality of life (QOL); assessing these various factors was the purpose of this study. Methods This observational longitudinal study was conducted at a teaching hospital offering tertiary care in Coastal Karnataka, and the study population consisted of 198 patients with HIV of both genders, on ART. All patients aged over 18 years, who were HIV positive and on ART from at least one month were included. Data was collected by directly interviewing the patient through the questionnaire at the ART clinic. Results A total of 198 patients were interviewed, and assessed for adherence to ART using the Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ), a validated questionnaire. The quality of life was assessed using the WHOQOL questionnaire, again a validated and elaborate questionnaire. Of the total patients, 103 were males. According to MAQ scale, a medium to high level of adherence was observed in 97.5% of the patients (score 0 is high adherence, score of 1 or 2 is medium adherence). Regarding the QOL, 43% of them responded to having good energy levels and being able to perform their daily activities without difficulty, over 80% of them said they were able to work normally, and able to carry out their duties, along with being satisfied with their capacity to work. Conclusion The adherence to antiretroviral therapy was observed to be >95% in majority of the patients when assessed using the Medication Adherence Questionnaire, which is very good. The quality of life was deemed to be satisfactory when assessed using the WHOQOL questionnaire.

Background: The specific treatment recommendations for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) differ based on a particular guideline. The goal of pharmacotherapy is to achieve the target HbA1c and fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels to avoid disease complications. Objective: To evaluate the profile of T2DM patients on different antidiabetic treatment regimens and the factors leading to dose escalation in these patients. Methods: A prospective descriptive study was conducted at Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Mangalore, a tertiary care teaching hospital, over a period of one year. The study population comprised of patients with T2DM for ≥5 years. The demographic and clinical data were collected during the baseline and follow-up visits. Results: Of the 119 patients studied, 59.7% were males; 32.8% were ≥65 years of age. A significant decrease in the fasting blood glucose (FBG) on follow-up was seen (p = 0.028) in patients on sulfonylurea and metformin combination. A significant decrease in the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was seen in patients on sulfonylurea with metformin and pioglitazone (p = 0.011); sulfonylurea with metformin, pioglitazone, and sitagliptin (p = 0.026); and metformin with insulin (p = 0.001). Patients who received dose escalation had a longer duration of the disease (p = 0.042), higher FBG (p = 0.039) and HbA1c (p = 0.05). Conclusion: A combination of metformin with sulfonylurea was the preferred first-line treatment; insulin was added when HbA1c was >9. Patients who received dose escalation had a longer duration of the disease and higher FBG and HbA1c.

Background and Aim The incidence of various cancers including the prostate, is on the rise globally. Prostate cancer is one of the most frequently reported cancer in men worldwide. This study was done to study the correlation of free PSA, percentage free PSA, and PSAD, with prostate biopsy findings, and the role of DRE in screening for carcinoma prostate. Methods The cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Coastal Kerala, over a period of 18 months in a sample size of 100 patients. The following was the study outline followed; Results The prevalence of prostate cancer was found to be 41%, maximum number of patients were in the age group of 50 -70 years of age. Percentage free PSA (%fPSA) and prostate volume were found to vary significantly between patients with Benign Prostate Hyperplasia and prostate cancer. At a cut off of 0.15, PSA density was seen to significantly vary between patients with BPH and prostate cancer. At a cut off of 15% (chosen based on prior studies), %fPSA was seen to significantly vary between patients with BPH and prostate cancer. The sensitivity and specificity of %fPSA were 73.17% and 93.22% respectively. Digital rectal examination varied significantly between patients with benign enlargement and those with malignancy. However, false positive rate with DRE alone was 44.06%. Conclusion DRE continues to be a useful screening technique as a part of clinical examination to identify patients who should undergo further screening for prostate cancer such as PSA estimation, free PSA estimation, and if required, a prostate biopsy, but DRE alone cannot be used to make accurate clinical decision owing to the false positives. Percentage fPSA could be a useful tool that can be used to avoid unnecessary biopsies in patients with a PSA range between 4.0 – 10.0 ng/ml.