The MRCI-E retains the reliability and validity of the original index and provides a suitable tool to assess the complexity of medication regimens in Spanish.

Before the intervention, the frequency of appropriate prescribing based on renal function was 65 %. After the intervention, this frequency was 86 % (p < 0.001). The interventions were more frequent in the emergency department (45 %). The program required 30-45 min of pharmacist time per day. The average number of patients reviewed daily was 28. This study found that a computer-based, semi-automated drug-dosage program for renal failure patients was able to reduce the number of inappropriate orders due to renal insufficiency.

Patients consider treatment with a powerful, long-lasting and well-tolerated ART a priority and among their preferences for different treatment regimes, once-daily dosing regimes are highlighted. The ARPAS study showed a direct relationship between compliance and satisfaction with ART, and between compliance and quality of life, in a manner that the strategies improving compliance must necessarily include aspects that allow them to improve patient satisfaction with treatment and quality of life.

No abstract

The presence of HCV-RNA in saliva of patients with chronic hepatitis C provides a biological basis for the potential transmission of this virus. HCV viremia is particularly high in HCV-HIV-coinfected patients, which could favor the presence of HCV in their saliva. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV in saliva of HCV-HIV-coinfected patients. Stimulated whole saliva was collected from 75 HCV-HIV-coinfected patients and 75 HCV controls. The presence of HCV-RNA in saliva was tested by a highly sensitive noncommercialized nested PCR, and analyzed in relation to demographic, clinical, and analytical variables. HCVRNA was detected in the saliva of 49 (65%) HCV-HIV-coinfected patients and 39 (52%) HCV controls. The presence of HCV in saliva was not related to any of the analyzed variables in HCV-HIV-coinfected patients. In the HCV control group a statistically significant relationship was demonstrated only between the detection of HCV-RNA in saliva and the viral load in peripheral blood (p < 0.001). Our results indicate that there is a trend toward a higher HCV-RNA prevalence in the saliva of HCV-HIV-coinfected patients.