Background: Farmers are extensively using pesticides for pest control in agriculture. Their precarious handling practices may lead to higher exposure resulting in adverse health effects. Aim: Current study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding pesticide usage and its toxic effects by farmers. Settings and Design: Cross sectional, Study Setting: Rural village in south Karnataka. Materials and Methods: Sample size: 171 farmers, Data collection: face to face standardized validated questionnaire. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square test. Results: A total of 118 males and 53 females participated in this study with median age of 40 years. About 61% of the farmers knew the harmful effects of pesticides. However, 22% of them were mixing the pesticides using their bare hands and 26% were not wearing any protective clothing during spraying pesticides. Around 67% were carelessly disposing the leftover pesticides in the open fields. Skin problems and neurological system disturbances were the most common pesticide related health symptoms. Equipment washing practices ( P < 0.05) and protective clothing ( P < 0.03) were significant predictors of health related problems. Significant associations were found between the occurrence of headache and equipment washing practices ( P < 0.03), storage of pesticide remains ( P < 0.02) and protective clothing ( P < 0.01). Conclusion: These findings showed that knowledge level is adequate among farmers but this did not reflect in their practice. There is a need for continuous pesticide safety education along with training to the farmers regarding use of personal protective devices, personal hygiene and sanitation practices during and after application of pesticides.

Aim: The primary intent of the study is to analyze the prescribing pattern and to identify the various drug-related problems (DRPs) associated with the therapy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Subjects and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in 160 patients diagnosed with any stages of CKD. The prescribing pattern was studied and DRPs were identified, reported, and categorized as per the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe classification V 5.01. The association between categorical variables was analyzed using the Chi-square test. The predictors of DRPs were identified using binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean age of the study population was 50.08 ± 15.32 years with male predominance (71%). The average number of drugs per prescription was found to be 9.16 ± 3.01. The most prescribed drug category was antihypertensives and the most commonly prescribed drugs were diuretics. A total of 337 DRPs were identified, out of which the most common DRP was drug interactions (60%), followed by frequency errors (11.6%). Logistic regression analysis identified comorbidities more than three (odds ratio 2.09), antihypertensives more than two (odds ratio 1.9), alcoholism (odds ratio 1.5), and polypharmacy (odds ratio 1.2) as the predictors of DRPs even though they were not statistically significant at P = 0.01. Conclusion: DRPs increase the risk of deterioration of the disease state and increase the length of hospital stay. Identification and resolving of the DRPs will lead to better patient care and proper treatment. Early identification and modification of the above-mentioned predictors could possibly prevent/reduce DRPs.