Background: Many governments encouraged generic use to enhance health equality and minimise health expenditure. The lack of knowledge and acceptance of generic medicines are the main barriers to their use. Objectives: This study aimed to assess population knowledge and perception towards generic drugs, identify their primary sources of information and examine which variables are independently related to their acceptance. Design: An observational cross-sectional study was performed targeting the Lebanese adult population. Methods: Overall, 385 patients participated in the study. Data were collected using a uniform survey from six public healthcare centres. Results: The participants reported a distrust towards generic drugs; they either said that they were not as effective as the brand (36.9%), were of less quality than the brand (38.5%) or had more side effects than the brand (38.4%). Around 52% said they would never buy a generic drug, and two-thirds (68.6%) preferred using a brand drug over a generic one. After adjusting for socio-demographics, a high income (odds ratio (OR) = 3.7), knowing that brands and generics have the same active ingredients (OR = 2.28) and that brands and generics were equally effective (OR = 6.46) were the strongest independent predictors for the willingness to buy generic drugs. Conclusion: A lack of knowledge and misperceptions about generic drugs limited the use of generic drugs, and therefore must be addressed.

Alopecia has become a growing concern since it directly affects the quality of life of the patients. It can be stimulated by various factors including stress, lifestyle changes, genetic predisposition, and aging. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the lifestyle patterns of alopecia patients, to understand alopecia´s characteristics and treatment options, and finally to assess the factors affecting the willingness to undergo treatment. An observational crosssectional study was conducted targeting 171 alopecia patients in the Lebanese adult population in 2020. A survey was administered during face-to-face interviews to collect the study data. Almost half of the participants in this study were smokers and alcohol consumers. For the majority of participants, alopecia initiated between 20 and 40 years and was associated with family history. Moreover, the willingness to use hair loss treatment is higher with age and university graduates had 5.05 higher odds to use them compared to primary and intermediate levels. The existence of family history had 3.42 higher odds to use hair loss treatment. In conclusion, patients with alopecia had specific lifestyle patterns. Pharmacists were the main source of information for alopecia treatment. Therefore, empowering their role in providing the adequate support for the patients is essential.

Objective: This study aims to compare all-cause mortality and other hospital outcomes of hospitalized coronavirus disease of 2019 patients using corticosteroids. Materials and methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was performed over three months by collecting data from patients' medical charts. Results: The sample included 129 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 293 patients without diabetes, with more men than women in both groups. Patients with T2D were older, namely, those aged more than 70 years (54.3%) with the majority having abnormal glucose levels on admission (76.1%) and at discharge (76.9%). As a primary outcome, higher all-cause mortality was reported among patients without diabetes having more than two comorbidities (38.2%) compared to those with two or single comorbidities (21.0% and 13.9% respectively; p = 0.009). It significantly increased if patients without diabetes had abnormal glucose levels at admission (51.7%; p < 0.001) and discharge (44.7%; p < 0.001) compared to those with normal levels. Critical cases had higher all-cause mortality compared to less severe cases in patients with T2D (58.8%; p < 0.001) and without diabetes (61.0%; p < 0.001). Among secondary outcomes, a higher length of stay in the hospital was noted among patients with T2D (8.4 vs. 7.3 days; p = 0.015), in addition to a significantly higher number of ventilator-free days (2.7 vs. 1.6 days; p = 0.039). Conclusions: Although the treatment with corticosteroids was comparable between patients with and without T2D, hospital outcomes varied between the groups. Findings from this study can help provide additional clinical support for patients with T2D to allow better in-hospital management of COVID-19 cases.