Australasian Medical Journal
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GenMed – 010: A Workshop on Generic Medicines
No full textThis report outlines the content of a one-day workshop on Generic Medicines that was held at KIST Medical College, Lalitpur, Nepal on 13th December 2010, which was attended by 32 delegates from different institutions in Nepal, including pharmacists, pharmacologists and medical doctors. Right medicine, right patient, right dose, right frequency and duration, right information and right monitoring are conditions to be fulfilled for the rational use of medicine (RUM). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines generic medicine as ‘a pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with the innovator product, marketed after the expiry of patent or other exclusivity rights’. Economic factors, supportive legislation and regulation, public and professional acceptance and quality assurance are key enabling factors promoting use of generics. Increased patent protection for medicines and removing process patents is a key feature of new trade agreements and newer medicines for diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and infectious diseases are likely to be more expensive. The Medicine and Therapeutics Committee (MTC) can play a key role in promoting generic medicine use in institutions. Nepal being among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) need not provide patent protection for medicines until 31st December 2015. Only a few ‘true’ generics are available in Nepal and there is huge cost variation in the price of different branded generics. Clinicians have concerns about the quality of medicines in general, substitution of poor quality brands by pharmacists and about therapeutic substitution. Generics have to meet the same regulatory requirements and be bioequivalent to reference preparations assuring their quality
Conjoined Twins with a Single Heart
Get PDFA case of abdomino-thoracopagus twins with single heart is described. The male twins were delivered in the 15th week of gestation following the desire of the parents to terminate pregnancy. This case is of particular interest because of the rarity of the abdomino-thoracopagus twins with a single heart, in the literature, that too, of male conjoined twins
Moxarella Lacunate Endocarditis
No full textWe describe a case of infective endocarditis due to Moraxella lacunata involving the native mitral and aortic valves, complicated by cerebral emboli and resultant hemiparesis. The patient was treated with ceftriaxone and gentamicin and improved. This is the first case reported in medical literature of native multivalvular endocarditis produced by this rare organism
Quinine Induced DIC
Get PDFThere are only a handful of case reports of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy (DIC) as a result of quinine use however it is important to recognise this early especially when quinine has not been prescribed for managing malaria. Off licence use of any medicine may result in serious complications, quinine induced DIC is one of them.
Letter to the Editor
No full textTeleradiology is the electronic transfer of images of radiological investigations done on patients at one end and receiving reports of these images at the other end. With astonishing strides in internet, out of all the areas of telemedicine; teleradiology has benefitted and matured the most. Recent advances in imaging have increased the number of radiological investigations but the number of radiologists has not increased correspondingly. Moreover as the reports are needed quicker, the crunch is felt more even though those who report are given good pay packages. Teleradiology is the one stop solution to this dire situation. This article reviews this modality of healthcare from all possible different angles for its complete understanding
BCG reaction in a Health Worker – A Medical Error
No full textExposure to blood-borne pathogens from sharp injuries continue to pose a significant risk to healthcare workers (HCW). The number of sharps injuries sustained by HCW is still unclear, primarily due to under-reporting of events. Healthcare professionals are at risk of sustaining such injuries from hollow-bore needles. Sharps injuries are associated with risk of infection with blood-borne pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) hepatitis C virus (HCV) and other live organisms. Here we are reporting a case of an adverse reaction in a HCW due to an accidental sharps injury by a needle used to administer the Bacillus Calmittee Gurien (BCG) vaccine
An Uncommon But Lethal Poison
Get PDFAmitraz, a centrally acting alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, is increasingly being used for treatment of ectoparasitic infestation in cattle. Its effects in humans may mimic organophosphate poisoning. We report a case of poisoning after suicidal ingestion of Amitraz. The patient presented in a deeply comatose state with respiratory depression, bradycardia and mydriasis (instead of miosis, the more common presentation in previous reports). He recovered completely within 24 hours with adequate supportive measures. The importance of this case report is highlighted by the increasing use of this compound, the life-threatening presentation, the excellent prognosis with early recognition and supportive management and the limited human toxicological data