Methylene blue is a fluorescent dye discovered in 1876 and has since been used in different scientific fields. Only recently has methylene blue been used for intraoperative fluorescent imaging. Here, the authors review the emerging role of methylene blue, not only as a dye used in clinical practice, but also as a fluorophore in a surgical setting. We discuss the promising potential of methylene blue together with the challenges and limitations among specific surgical techniques. A literature review of PubMed and Medline was conducted based on the historical, current and future usage of methylene blue within the field of medicine. We reviewed not only the current usage of methylene blue, but we also tried to grasp its’ function as a fluorophore in five main domains. These domains include the near-infrared imaging visualization of ureters, parathyroid gland identification, pancreatic tumors imaging, detection of breast cancer tumor margins, as well as breast cancer sentinel node biopsy. Methylene blue is used in countless clinical procedures with a relatively low risk for patients. Usage of its fluorescent properties is still at an early stage and more pre-clinical, as well as clinical research, must be performed to fully understand its potentials and limitations.

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Adherence to medication is one of the most significant challenges of secondary prevention in patients after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI (Cardiol J 2016; 23, 5: 483-490)

PurposeTo evaluate the practical utility of pharmaceutical pictograms in routine practice in community pharmacy. The primary outcome (composite endpoint) consisted of three elements: i) complete use of the whole package of medication, ii) taking the recommended dose twice a day, and iii) subjective assessment of patients’ perspective on medical information about antibiotic therapy obtained during the pharmacy consultation measured by Net Promoter Score in scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is the lowest and 10 the highest possible rating.Patients and methodsA multicenter, randomized controlled study was conducted. Community pharmacies (n = 64) which agreed to participate in the study were assigned to one of two groups: i) study – providing an antibiotic with pictograms placed on the external packaging of the medicinal product containing information about drug regimen (n = 32); or ii) control – providing an antibiotic according to usual pharmacy practice (n = 32). Two semi-structured interviews were performed. Data were collected from 199 patients with a mean age ± SD of 45.5 ± 17.0 years.ResultsIn the control group, 15.7% of participants discontinued therapy before using the whole package compared with 13.4% of participants in the study group. In the control group, 81.3% of patients reported that they always took the medication twice a day as recommended by their healthcare providers compared with 80.4% of patients in the study group. The Net Promoter Score was higher for pharmacy practice with than without pictograms (71.3% vs 51.5%, respectively, p<0.005). The chance that a patient was an advocate of pharmaceutical services (scores 9 and 10) was twice as likely in the case of pharmaceutical practice supported by pictograms (p<0.02). The composite endpoint was achieved more frequently in the population using pictograms, however this difference was not statistically significant (p<0.34).ConclusionThe pharmaceutical pictograms are readily accepted by patients and could prove to be a valuable support for pharmacists in conducting pharmaceutical care. Further representative research is needed to evaluate the true effectiveness of this solution.

Polish pharmacy practice and the distribution of medicinal products in some European countries are still going through a significant transformation. Changes postulated by the pharmacists should strengthen their role, and the place of community pharmacies in the health care system in the context of—among others—the introduction and popularization of pharmaceutical care. Subsequently, these efforts may essentially ensure the professional independence of the pharmacists. The introduction of pharmaceutical care to the pharmacy practice in all European countries will help to improve the quality of patient care and treatment outcomes, and will lead to a better allocation of available resources. Herewith, we present an important voice in the international debate, showing the current changes in the pharmacy practice in Poland, a European Union (EU)-member from 2004. Indeed, this paper presents the perspective of the country in which the position of pharmaceutical care is not well-established, and the role of the pharmacist is still limited to dispensing medicinal products, more than decade after it joined EU.