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

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capacity of machines to perform tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence. AI can be utilized in various pharmaceutical applications with less time and cost. To evaluate community pharmacists’ willingness and attitudes towards the adoption of AI technology at pharmacy settings, and the barriers that hinder AI implementation. This cross-sectional study was conducted among community pharmacists in Jordan using an online-based questionnaire. In addition to socio-demographics, the survey assessed pharmacists’ willingness, attitudes, and barriers to AI adoption in pharmacy. Binary logistic regression was conducted to find the variables that are independently associated with willingness and attitude towards AI implementation. The present study enrolled 401 pharmacist participants. The median age was 30 (29–33) years. Most of the pharmacists were females (66.6%), had bachelor’s degree of pharmacy (56.1%), had low-income (54.6%), and had one to five years of experience (35.9%). The pharmacists showed good willingness and attitude towards AI implementation at pharmacy (n = 401). The most common barriers to AI were lack of AI-related software and hardware (79.2%), the need for human supervision (76.4%), and the high running cost of AI (74.6%). Longer weekly working hours (attitude: OR = 1.072, 95% C.I (1.040–1.104), P < 0.001, willingness: OR = 1.069, 95% Cl. 1.039–1.009, P-value = 0.011), and higher knowledge of AI applications (attitude: OR = 1.697, 95%Cl (1.327–2.170), willingness: OR = 1.790, 95%Cl. (1.396–2.297), P-value < 0.001 for both) were significantly associated with better willingness and attitude towards AI, whereas greater years of experience (OR = 20.859, 95% Cl (5.241–83.017), P-value < 0.001) were associated with higher willingness. In contrast, pharmacists with high income (OR = 0.382, 95% Cl. (0.183–0.795), P-value = 0.010), and those with<10 visitors (OR = 0.172, 95% Cl. (0.035–0.838), P-value = 0.029) or 31–50 visitors daily (OR = 0.392, 95% Cl. (0.162–0.944), P-value = 0.037) had less willingness to adopt AI. Despite the pharmacists' positive willingness and attitudes toward AI, several barriers were identified, highlighting the importance of providing educational and training programs to improve pharmacists' knowledge of AI, as well as ensuring adequate funding support to overcome the issue of AI high operating costs.

Background. Caffeine is widely consumed among students due to its cognitive and physical enhancing effects. However, little is known about the consumption pattern of different caffeinated products among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Aim. To investigate the frequency of caffeine consumption among the young population of students, assess types of caffeinated products consumed, and document adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms experienced by university students. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the UAE from December 2019 to March 2020. A random sample of 500 university students from different universities in the UAE were approached and asked to complete a self-administered online-based questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26. Results. Of (n = 500) surveyed students, (n = 467) completed the survey 93.4%. The average level of caffeine consumption was significantly higher in females compared to male students ( ). Coffee was the highest favored source of caffeine (67.7%) followed by tea (47.3%). The average daily intake of caffeine was found to be 264 mg/day. Surprisingly, almost a third of students reported a high level of daily consumption (>400 mg/day) and more than half of them consumed less than 199 mg/day. Large proportions of students 91.1% have their caffeinated beverage after or while eating meals and 42.8% considered that this habit helped in avoiding acid reflux. Interestingly, around one third of participants have poor knowledge of caffeine-containing medical products, which seemed to affect the level of consumption in the student population ( ). The highest reported reason for caffeine intake was for studying purposes (59.4%). Conclusion. Caffeine consumption is highly prevalent among university students in the UAE. Yet, there is insufficiency in the current knowledge of safe caffeine consumption patterns reflecting the importance of health awareness programs and nutritional lectures to decrease the long-term health issues and unintentional overdose of caffeine.

Worldwide, the prescribing pattern of the Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) has increased. They are considered highly effective medications in controlling various conditions including inflammatory diseases. They are associated with various adverse effects including gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcer and renal toxicity though. These adverse effects are generally potentiated when NSAIDs are co-prescribed with other drugs that share similar adverse effects and toxicities. Developing severe side effects from NSAIDs is more prone among elderly patients. Hence, it is crucial to evaluate prescribing pattern of these agents to prevent/decrease the number of unwanted side effects caused by NSAIDs. The aim of this study is to assess the prescribing pattern of NSAIDs among elderly and the co-prescribing of NSAIDs and different interacting drugs, which could lead to more incidences of NSAIDs-induced toxicities among Jordanian elderly patients. A multicenter retrospective study was performed during a three months period in Jordan. The study involves a total number of (n = 5916) elderly patient's records obtained from Four governmental hospitals in Jordan. A total number of (n = 20450) drugs were prescribed and dispensed for patient. NSAIDs drugs prescribing percentage was 10.3% of total medications number. Aspirin was the most commonly prescribed NSAIDs among patients (70.4%), followed by Diclofenac sodium in all dosage forms (25.1%) and oral Ibuprofen (3.1%. In addition, Aspirin was the highest NSAIDs co-prescribed with ACEI (e.g., Enalapril), ARBs (e.g. Candesartan and Losartan), Diuretics (Furosemide, Indapamide, Hydrochlorothiazide, Amiloride, and Spironolactone), Warfarin and antiplatelets (Clopidogreal and Ticagrelor) followed by Diclofenac and other NSAIDs. NSAIDs prescribing rate among elderly patients was high. Additionally the co-prescribing of NSAIDs especially Aspirin with other agents, which contributes to NSAIDs nephrotoxicity and gastrointestinal toxicity, were high. Strict measurements and action plans should be taken by prescribers to optimize the medical treatment in elderly through maximizing the benefits and decreasing the unwanted side effects.

Irrational drug prescribing is considered one of the major challenges for the healthcare sectors worldwide, leading to negative outcomes in patients including various drug-related problems, such as polypharmacy, adverse drug events, more demands on drug monitoring, and unwanted increase in treatment cost. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the trends and issues related to prescription at outpatient hospital pharmacies in Jordan and to contrast that to the WHO rational medication list and WHO drug use indicators. This study was a cross-sectional study, conducted between January 2014 and May 2014. It involved a total number of 24,089 patient encounters from five teaching and referral hospitals in Jordan. The encounters included patients who were prescribed at least one medication during their visit to outpatient clinics in those hospitals. The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.93. The percentage of encounters which had antibiotics or injections in the prescription was 17.7% and 8.1%, respectively. The top three most common prescribed antibiotics were amoxicillin (n = 2,129, 49.9%), ciprofloxacin (n = 609, 14.3%), and clarithromycin (n = 267, 6.3%), while the most common prescribed injections were insulin and insulin analogs (n = 766, 39.2%), cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) (n = 612, 31.3%), and erythropoietin (n = 80, 4.1%). The percentage of prescriptions by generic was 57.6%, whereas the prescribing from the essentials drug list (formulary) was close to optimal (99.8%). The average number of prescribed drugs per encounter was higher than what was considered ideal according to WHO standards; the other issue found was a lower percentage of generic prescribing compared to WHO ideal value. The rest of prescribing indicators including the injections prescribing, antibiotics prescribing, and prescribing from the essential drug list were within the optimal range of values recommended by the WHO. .

Background: The relationship between COVID-19 patient’s clinical characteristics and disease manifestation remains incompletely understood. The impact of ethnicity on mortality of patients with COVID-19 infection is poorly addressed in the literature. Emerging evidence suggests that many risk factors are related to symptoms severity and mortality risk, emphasizing the necessity of fulfilling this knowledge gap that may help reducing mortality from COVID-19 infections through tackling the risk factors. Aims: To explore epidemiological and demographic characteristics of hospitalized COVID-19 patients from different ethnic origins living in the UAE, compare them to findings reported across the globe and determine the impact of these characteristics and ethnicity on mortality during hospitalization. Methods: A single center, retrospective chart review study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients was conducted in a large COVID-19 referral hospital in UAE. The following outcomes were assessed: patients’ clinical characteristics, disease symptoms and severity, and association of ethnicity and other risk factors on 30-day in hospital mortality. Results: A total of 3296 patients were recruited in this study with an average age of 44.3±13.4 years old. Preliminary data analysis indicated that 78.3% (n = 2582) of cases were considered mild. Average duration of hospital stay was 6.0±7.3 days and 4.3% (n = 143) were admitted to ICU. The most frequently reported symptoms were cough (32.6%, n = 1075) and fever (22.2%, n = 731). The 30-day mortality rate during hospitalization was 2.7% (n = 90). Many risk factors were associated with mortality during hospitalization including: age, respiratory rate (RR), creatinine, and C-reactive protein, oxygen saturation (SaO₂), hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, creatinine, C-reactive protein, anemia, COPD, Chronic kidney disease, dyslipidemia, Vitamin-D Deficiency, and ethnic origin (p <0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that higher mortality rates during hospitalization was associated with anemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic kidney disease, and Middle Eastern origin (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results indicated that most COVID-19 cases were mild and morality rate was low compared to worldwide reported mortality. Mortality rate during hospitalization was higher in patients from Middle East origin with preexisting comorbidities especially anemia, COPD, and chronic kidney disease. Due to the relatively small number of mortality cases, other identified risk factors from univariate analysis such as age, respiratory rate, and Vitamin-D (VitD) deficiency should also be taken into consideration. It is crucial to stratify patients on admission based on these risk factors to help decide intensity and type of treatment which, possibly, will reduce the risk of death.