Background: Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are a common method for formative and summative assessment of medical students. Item analysis enables identifying good MCQs based on difficulty index (DIF I), discrimination index (DI), distracter efficiency (DE). The objective of this study was to assess the quality of MCQs currently in use in pharmacology by item analysis and develop a MCQ bank with quality items.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 148 second year MBBS students at NKP Salve institute of medical sciences from January 2018 to August 2018. Forty MCQs twenty each from the two term examination of pharmacology were taken for item analysis A correct response to an item was awarded one mark and each incorrect response was awarded zero. Each item was analyzed using Microsoft excel sheet for three parameters such as DIF I, DI, and DE.Results: In present study mean and standard deviation (SD) for Difficulty index (%) Discrimination index (%) and Distractor efficiency (%) were 64.54±19.63, 0.26±0.16 and 66.54±34.59 respectively. Out of 40 items large number of MCQs has acceptable level of DIF (70%) and good in discriminating higher and lower ability students DI (77.5%). Distractor efficiency related to presence of zero or 1 non-functional distrator (NFD) is 80%.Conclusions: The study showed that item analysis is a valid tool to identify quality items which regularly incorporated can help to develop a very useful, valid and a reliable question bank.

Background:In an era of rapidly rising health care costs generic medicines provide a less expensive alternative to branded medicines. In addition to reducing the overall health care expenditure, it has been shown to improve adherence. Objective was to study knowledge and perception about generic drugs among patients coming to outpatient department of tertiary care centre. Methods: After ethical approval a cross sectional questionnaire based study was conducted. Patients (n=71) were interviewed according to questionnaire in vernacular language by investigator to fill questionnaire. Results: About 28% people think that price of generic drug is less than a branded drug while nearly 61% of people don't know of it. Only 18.85% participants had taken generic medicine. Trusting efficacy of generic drugs only 30 participants were in favour it. Even they have not seen or heard publicity of generic drugs (61.97%). They (60.56%) opined that generic drugs never prescribe in our country. Conclusions: Limitation in knowledge and perception about generic medicines has been seen among participants.

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Background: Acute febrile illness has various etiologies. Different antimicrobials are used for different causes of fever to treat and there are interpersonal variations in prescription of antimicrobials. Therefore this study aims at to analyze the trends in the antimicrobial prescription in patients of acute febrile illness due to various etiologies in the medicine department of a tertiary care hospital.Methods: It is a record based observational study that was carried out at NKP salve institute of medical sciences and RC, Nagpur. 200 case record files of patients admitted with a diagnosis of acute febrile illness in the dept. of Medicine due to various etiologies were analyzed. Antibiotics prescribed for various causes of acute febrile illness like respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infection, gastrointestinal infection, malarial infections, septicemia, meningitis, pyrexia of unknown origin etc. were noted and data was analyzed for prescription pattern of antimicrobials.Results: Out of 200 patients of febrile illness the common clinical conditions for which antibiotics were prescribed were respiratory tract infections (upper respiratory tract infection 25.5% and lower respiratory tract infection 14%), acute gastroenteritis (20%), and urinary tract infection (13.5%) followed by, pyrexia of unknown origin (8.5%), viral fever (8%), malaria (7%), hepatitis A (1.5%), meningitis (1%) and rickettsial infection (1%). The commonly prescribed antibiotics were ceftriaxone in (19.37%) and cefixime (15.93%) followed by coamoxiclav (12.5%), azithromycin (11.87%), doxycycline (10.31%), ofloxacin and ornidazole (8.43%), levofloxacin (6.25%), ofloxacin (4.68%), ciprofloxacin (1.87%), artesunate (3.75%), artemether and lumefantrine (4.37%) and valacyclovir (0.625%).Conclusions: Our study concluded that most common disease for which antibiotics prescribed were respiratory tract infection and gasterointestinal infections. Most common antibiotic used were third generation cephalosporins especially ceftriaxone and cefixime.

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