Pharmacy students’ knowledge and attitudes about antibiotics in Kosovo

Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude among Pharmacy students of the University of Prishtina in regards to the antibiotics. Methods: 144 pharmacy students at the University of Prishtina were recruited in this study to complete a self-administered questionnaire. The total number of questions in this questionnaire was eight (8), covering two (2) major themes: self-report of the current and past antibiotic use and behavior; and anticipated prescription behavior of antibiotics upon graduation. The data was statistically analyzed through using SPSS for Windows. Descriptive analysis was employed, and the results were expressed in frequency and percentages. Results: The results showcased a good knowledge of antibiotic among students. The most common answer of students' knowledge about antibiotics was good or moderate (82 %), while 63.2% of the subjects used antibiotics by self-decision, most of them (45 %) for sore throat. Upon graduation, 56.9 % of the students will not sell antibiotics without prescription and 85.4% think that module for rational use of antibiotics is very necessary to be inside the pharmacy syllabus. Conclusion: The study showed good and moderate knowledge of pharmacy students regarding the antibiotics. Half of them use antibiotics by self-decision but the majority of them stated that they will not serve the antibiotics without medical prescription. Specific modules and training for proper antibiotic use should be implemented within the Pharmacy program in The Faculty of Medicine.

Study on adherence to treatment with imatinib in chronic myeloid leukaemia and its association with therapeutic response

Objective: To assess the level of adherence to treatment with imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia and its association with therapeutic response. Materials and methods: Study conducted on October, 2013 - March, 2014, including patients diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia on treatment with imatinib in the hospital. Therapeutic adherence was assessed through the standard Morisky-Green Questionnaire and the medication dispensing record. Those patients who did not complete 6 months of treatment and/or did not complete the questionnaire were excluded. Therapeutic response was assessed following clinical guidelines. The descriptive analysis of variables and correlation was conducted through Pearsons's Chi-Square Test. Results: The study included 31 patients. When assessing the level of association between response variables and therapeutic adherence: 1. The highest molecular response was reached by 68.4% of those patients with high adherence, and by 75% of those patients with intermediate adherence. 2. Complete molecular response was achieved by 57.9% of patients with high adherence, and by 58.3% of patients with intermediate adherence. No statistically significant differences were found in response variables between patients with high and intermediate therapeutic adherence. No association was observed between level of adherence and therapeutic response. Conclusions: We cannot confirm that a different level of therapeutic adherence might have an impact on response to imatinib, though this should be taken into account in cases of therapeutic failure or sub-optimal response.