Effect and safety of an outpatient traditional medicine treatment for asthma in 26 patients from Cota, Colombia: a case series

The prevalence, morbidity and costs of asthma care have increased worldwide. This study describes the effect and safety of an outpatient medical treatment with traditional medicine for asthma, through a retrospective case series with patients admitted to outpatient consultation from 1995 to 2015 in Cota, Colombia. Analyzing 26 cases with a clinical diagnosis of asthma, during the treatment 34.6% (9/26) did not present episodes of uncontrolled asthma and 61.5% (16/26) were classified as controlled asthma in their last consultation of control. 88.4% (23/26) of the patients reported no adverse reactions and the three reported were mild. The results allow to generate hypotheses about the effectiveness and safety of an outpatient treatment based on the incorporation of resources from traditional medicine. These observations could be explored with experimental studies to determine their long-term effectiveness, safety and low cost.

Adverse Events of Risperidone and Clozapine Combination Therapy on Schizophrenic Patients at Magelang Mental Hospital

The adverse drug effect of risperidone and clozapine combination therapy possibly increases the BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressures of mental victims. This study aimed at determining the relationship between the duration of risperidone and clozapine combination therapy and increase in body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressures of schizophrenic patients. The correlation was obtained using the cohort retrospective method on 59 schizophrenic inpatients at Magelang Mental Hospital from February–May 2019. Participants were grouped into 2 categories, termed <8 and ≥8 weeks with 48 and 11 persons, respectively. Subsequently, patients’ BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured during the first day of hospitalization and outpatient consultations, based on NCEP-ATP III cut off-point with the modification of Southeast Asian population’s BMI. Structured questionnaires were used to evaluate calory intake and physical activity as well as generate respondents’ medical records. The bivariate analysis results showed a significant relationship between BMI increase at initial hospitalization and during outpatient consultation on group ≥8 weeks therapy, 22.41±2.98 kg/m2 vs 25.2±6.80 kg/m2 (p=0.023, –2.75 (–5.12–(–0.39)). However, there is no major correlation occurred in systolic 117±11.73 mmHg vs 118±15.42 mmHg (p=0.797, 95%CI –1.07 (–9.41–7.26)) and diastolic blood pressures 76±7.86 mmHg vs 73±8.48 mmHg (p=0.192, 95% CI 3.52 (–1.81–8.86)) for both groups. Furthermore, age, gender, smoking status, dosage, co-medication, calory intake and physical activity indicated no substantial variations, in terms of the increase in BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressures among two categories.

Subungual Exostosis: A Case Series of 48 Patients

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Subungual exostosis is an unusual benign nail tumor, mostly located on the big toe. It generally affects young people and manifests as uncomfort during footwear. <b><i>Method:</i></b> A monocentric retrospective study was conducted at the outpatient consultation for nail disorders at the Department of Dermatology of the University of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco, between April 2006 and October 2019. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We diagnosed subungual exostosis in 48 patients, including 25 men and 23 women, with an average age of 20 years. The subungual exostosis was located on the hallux in 34 cases, the second toe in 10 cases, and the index finger in 2 cases. Nail trauma was found in 27 patients. The tumor was entirely excised in all the patients. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Large series of subungual exostosis are reported by orthopedic surgeons. However, our outpatient consultation for nail disorders allowed the diagnosis and appropriate management of subungual exostosis.

Letter to the Editor Regarding “Factors Affecting Outpatient Consultation Length among Specialists in Tabriz, Iran”

The article's abstract is not available.

Evaluation of Prescribing Indicators in a Paediatric Population Seen in an Outpatient Consultation at the Gaspard Kamara Health Centre in 2019 (Senegal)

Introduction: Data on drug use in paediatrics are scarce in Senegal. The objective of this study was to assess the prescribing indicators in a paediatric population seen in an outpatient consultation at a Health Centre in Dakar, Senegal. Methods: A retrospective and analytical study was conducted. The study population consisted of prescriptions for children aged 0 to 14 years who were seen in ambulatory consultation between 1 June and 30 November 2019. The sample size was 600 prescriptions. The systematic survey was then conducted. Five prescription indicators recommended by the World Health Organization were calculated. The R software was used for descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis and binomial logistic regression. Results: The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.56. The proportion of drugs prescribed under the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) was 18.9%, while the proportion of drugs on the National Essential Medicines List (NEML) was 41.3%. The proportions of prescriptions with at least one antibiotic and one injectable product were 41.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Conclusions: This study showed that prescribing habits were inadequate. Thus, it would be necessary to move towards continuing training of prescribers in the wise use of medicines.

Out-of-pocket and catastrophic expenses in households of patients with schizophrenia lacking social security

Objective. To estimate the magnitude of out-of-pocket (OOP) and catastrophic health expenses as well as impo­verishment experienced by households of schizophrenia patients lacking social security coverage. Materials and methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 96 individuals treated outpatient consultation between February and December 2018, in a psychiatric hospital. Results. All households sustained OOP health expenses; the median was 510 USD (95%CI: 456-628). The OOP expenses represented 28 and 4% of the capacity to pay of poor and rich households, respectively. The 16% of households incurred catastrophic expenses and 6.6% have impoverishment for health reasons. Conclusions. Our results illustrate that pocket expenses and catastrophic expenses in patients with schizophrenia are higher than those reported for the general population. There­fore, it is necessary to rethink the financial protection policies aimed at patients with schizophrenia and their households.