A drug-related problem is an event or circumstance involving drug treatment that actually or potentially interferes with the patient’s experiencing an optimum outcome of medical care. The pharmacists can play key role in reducing the incidences of DRPs by making appropriate intervention at each stage and by working with other healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to observe the Pharmacist clinical knowledge about DRPs and the extent to which they participate in reducing the incidences of DRPs. A questionnaire based survey was conducted among hundred pharmacists selected by random sampling in different health care settings from Lahore district. According to data collected it was found that 100% of Pharmacists had knowledge about DRPs and Pharmaceutical care. Different types of DRPs were identified by Pharmacists but only 41% of Pharmacists reported these DRPs and 37% of Pharmacists intervened to reduce the incidences of DRPs. Majority of the Pharmacists had knowledge about DRPs, other related terms and also about reporting but most of them did not actively participate to reduce incidences of DRPs because of lack of their acceptance by society and other health care professionals, lack of proper reporting system, lack of incentives and lack of time due to managerial job structure specially in case of retail pharmacy setup.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v4i2.21483 International Current Pharmaceutical Journal, January 2015, 4(2): 347-352

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is leading to greater therapeutic cost, length of hospital stays, adverse events, morbidity and mortality. Hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) engaging physicians, pharmacists, microbiologists and nurses are considered as effective way to ensure appropriate use of antimicrobial agents. The aims of our study were to assess nurses' perception, involvement, confidence and barriers towards hospital-based ASPs, and use the findings to provide future guidance. Methods: A web-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among the nurses serving at eleven hospitals of Punjab province of Pakistan during a period of two months (December 2021-January 2022). Data were collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: A total of 583 nurses participated in the study (response rate = 77.7%). All the participants were female staff nurses and 86% had a minimum of 3 years of working experience. The overall median score on the perception towards ASPs among the nurses was 18 (IQR: 16, 19) on a 0 to 20 scale whereas median score on the involvement in ASPs was 18 (IQR: 15, 37) on a 0 to 64 scale. Median perception and involvement score were statistically significantly differed by age (p < 0.001) and years of experience (p < 0.001). The overall median score on the confidence to perform ASP activities was 22 (IQR: 14, 24) on a 0 to 28 scale. Lack of knowledge, insufficient support from administration, and heavy workload were found to be the common barriers to perform ASP. Conclusion: Our study concluded that Pakistani nurses have positive perception but limited involvement in ASPs. Moreover, they are confident to perform ASP besides many barriers.

BackgroundRespiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and respiratory infections carry significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Nebulization therapy is an excellent option for these patients due to the direct administration of drugs into the lungs. ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate the effect of a pharmacist-led educational intervention on the nurses' skills in dealing with nebulization therapy. MethodsA pre-post interventional study was conducted among the nurses from three district headquarters hospitals in Punjab province, Pakistan from August to October 2020. The nurses attended a structured training session on Good Nebulization Practice delivered with the help of lectures, illustrations, videos, and hands-on training. Pre-post-intervention assessments using a selfadministered questionnaire. ResultsA total of 136 registered nurses were invited for the current study, whereas 103 actually participated (response rate = 76%). Most nurses were 26-30 years of age and had 2-5 years of working experience. Around one-third of the nurses reported performing the nebulization process more than 10 times/day. The pharmacist-led educational intervention significantly improved (p < 0.001) knowledge about good nebulization practices, as reported by the study participants' selfadministered questionnaire in the post-training assessment. Moreover, the practices related to infection prevention and disinfection of nebulizing accessories were also significantly improved (p ˂ 0.001). ConclusionThe current study demonstrated a potential positive impact of pharmacist-led educational intervention on complex medication processes related to nurses' good nebulization awareness.