Purpose:The goal of this study was to compare the knowledge and attitudes of pharmacy and medical students regarding adverse drug reactions (ADRs), as well as their perceptions of barriers to ADR reporting, in a Higher Education Commission-recognised Pakistani university.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among final-year pharmacy (n=91) and medical (n=108) students in Pakistan from June 1 to July 31, 2014. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The responses of pharmacy students were compared to those of medical students.Results:Pharmacy students had a significantly better knowledge of ADRs than medical students (mean±SD, 5.61±1.78 vs. 3.23±1.60; P<0.001). Gender showed a significant relationship to knowledge about ADRs, and male participants were apparently more knowledgeable than their female counterparts (P<0.001). The attitudes of pharmacy students regarding their capability to handle and report ADRs were significantly more positive than those of medical students (P<0.05). In comparison to pharmacy students, a lack of knowledge of where and how to report ADRs was the main barrier that medical students perceived to ADR reporting (P=0.001).Conclusion:Final-year pharmacy students exhibited more knowledge about ADRs and showed more positive attitudes regarding their capacity to handle and report ADRs than final-year medical students.

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Purpose:In Pakistan, courses in pharmacy practice, which are an essential component of the PharmD curriculum, were launched with the aim of strengthening pharmacy practice overall and enabling pharmacy students to cope with the challenges involved in meeting real-world healthcare needs. Since very little research has assessed the efficacy of such courses, we aimed to evaluate students’ perceptions of pharmacy practice courses and their opinions about whether their current knowledge of the topics covered in pharmacy practice courses is adequate for future practice.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted over two months among the senior pharmacy students of two pharmacy colleges. A content- and face-validated questionnaire was used to collect data, which were then analysed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed.Results:Research in pharmacy practice (30.2%), applied drug information (34.4%), health policy (38.1%), public health and epidemiology (39.5%), pharmacovigilance (45.6%), and pharmacoeconomics (47.9%) were the major courses that were covered to the least extent in the PharmD curriculum. However, hospital pharmacy practice (94.4%), pharmacotherapeutics (88.8%), and community pharmacy practice (82.8%) were covered well. Although 94% of students considered these courses important, only 37.2% considered themselves to be competent in the corresponding topics. Of the participants, 87.9% agreed that the pharmacy courses in the present curriculum should be redesigned.Conclusion:Our results showed that the pharmacy practice courses in the current PharmD curriculum do not encompass some important core subjects. A nationwide study is warranted to further establish the necessity for remodelling pharmacy practice courses in Pakistan.

To compare the frequency of serum vitamin D levels in patients with and without distal radius fracture. MethodologyThis study was conducted at The Indus Hospital Karachi, from 1st March 2020 to 31st August 2020. Consecutive non-probability sampling was done. Patients aged between 20 to 80 years with and without distal radius fractures were enrolled and serum vitamin D levels were compared. ResultsA total of 130 patients were enrolled in this study, out of which 70 (53.8%) were males. The median (IQR) vitamin D, calcium, alkaline phosphate level, and albumin was 14.8 (9.5-23) ng/ml, 9.2 (8.9-9.5) ng/ml, 91 (77.3-111) U/L, and 4.2 (4-4.5) g/dl, respectively. No significant association between distal radius fracture and vitamin D levels was found in males, whereas a significantly higher proportion of females with no fracture had a mild-moderate deficiency in comparison to females with fracture. ConclusionNo significant association was noted between patients with and without distal radius fracture and vitamin D levels, however, we recommend more studies on this topic so that more comprehensive results can be obtained.