The administration of an excessive amount of or unnecessary drugs is a prerequisite for numerous drug-related problems, non-compliance, non-adherence to medicinal therapy, exacerbation and poor control of chronic diseases, and failure in achieving the treatment goals. The aim of this study was to assess patients’ awareness on drug use (administration, adherence to drug therapy) and to identify the possible drug-related problems with patients, using 5 or more medicines on Bulgarian territory. The data were collected implementing a structured study tool – a questionnaire for assessment of patients’ therapy using 5 or more drugs prescribed by a physician, including OTC and/or food supplements. The study provided an identification of factors affecting skipping of doses, modification of regime and analyzed the relationships and interdependencies between number of diagnoses and adverse drug effects rate; number of administered drugs and reported problems and unawareness of the medicinal product indications and health state.
The results showed that it was necessary to introduce the Medication Review (MR) service in Bulgarian pharmaceutical practice. That will provide possibilities for development of pharmacists’ role in dispensing medical products, it will help in reducing drug-related problems and increasing the effectiveness of the treatment and adherence to medical therapy.
(1) Background: This study aims to evaluate the occlusal force distribution across different quadrants during the placement of orthodontic retainers fabricated using a biocompatible material via digital design. (2) Materials and Methods: A cohort of 21 patients in the retention phase following orthodontic treatment was included in this study. Intraoral scans were obtained using Trios color (3Shape). For retainer fabrication, the splint studio module of the 3Shape design software was utilized. Occlusal evaluation was performed using T-Scan Novus (Tekscan). The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, and Mann–Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. (3) Results: The digital design set evenly distributed contacts on all occluding surfaces. These contacts, uniform in area, turned out to be uneven in pressure: right distal—37.14%, right frontal—11.4%, left frontal—11.46%, and left distal—39.99%. (4) Conclusions: The results of the study indicate that the digital design workflow has the capability to achieve uniform contact distribution by area. However, despite the achievement of uniform contact distribution, the study found that there was an unequal distribution of occlusal forces. Specifically, the distal sections of the teeth experienced significantly higher loading compared to the frontal sections.
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