Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Teena Nazeem ¹, Sabin Thomas ²

Affiliations
1 Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, IN
2 College of Pharmacy, The University of Nizwa, OM

Abstract

Various maternal behaviours and experiences before, during, and after pregnancy such as unintended pregnancy, late entry into prenatal care, cigarette smoking etc are associated with adverse health outcomes for both the mother and the infant.Information regarding maternal behaviours and experiences is needed to monitor trends to enhance the understanding of the relations between behaviours and health outcomes, to plan and evaluate programs, to direct policy decisions, and to monitor progress toward healthy people. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is an ongoing, state- and population-based surveillance system designed to monitor selected self-reported maternal behaviours and experiences that occur before, during, and after pregnancy among women who deliver a live-born infant. PRAMS provides state-specific data for planning and assessing health programs and for describing maternal experiences that may contribute to maternal and infant health.As per the surveillance data, the prevalence of unintended pregnancy resulting in a live birth ranged from 33.7% to 52% across the 17 states in US. The prevalence of late or no entry into prenatal care ranged from 16.1% to 29.9%. The prevalence of smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy ranged from 6.2% to 27.2%. Overall, smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy was associated with younger age (<25 years). The prevalence of physical abuse by a husband or partner during pregnancy ranged from 2.1% to 6.3% whereas for breast-feeding initiation ranged from 48% to 89%.

Keywords

PRAM, Maternal Behaviours, Unintended Pregnancy.

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Teena Nazeem ¹, Sabin Thomas ², Govinda Ajmera ³

Affiliations
1 Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, IN
2 College of Pharmacy, University of Nizwa, OM
3 Clinical Pharmacy Department, CHL Apollo, Indore, IN

Abstract

Introduction: Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a progressive condition that results in right heart failure and death1. Patients with PAH who do not receive disease targeted therapy have a poor quality of life and high mortality rates with a median survival of less than three years from diagnosis2,3. In the last few years, oral Sildenafil Citrate (a specific phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor which is widely used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction), has shownpromising results as a novel oral monotherapy in the treatment of PAH.

Methodology: A prospective open label randomized study was conducted over a period of 8 months in hospitalized patients who visited the in- patient block in a tertiary care hospital in Nilgris. Simple Randomization technique was adopted to allocate the patients into three studygroups. At the baseline Visit, Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale (MBDS) and 6 MWT(6 Minute Walk Test) were evaluated to confirm study criteria and were allotted into 3 doses based on their severity upon Right Ventricular Systolic Pressure. The same parameters were assessed on each visit for all the patients throughout thestudy period.

Results and Discussion: In our study, Sildenafil Citrate showed an improvement in MBDS and 6 MWT after 8 months of therapy which were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. A remarkable improvement in6MWT from 171.88±52.4 metres to 337.12±71.84 metres was observed. There was an improvement in dyspnea by Borg scale in all study groups. Cor-pulmonale patients were more benefited (p<0.001) whereas patients with Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) also improved significantly (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Sildenafil has been reported to be welltolerated among the patient population. The patients who were slightly affected at baseline with moderate to severe dyspnoea became slight grade which.

Keywords

PAH, MBDS, 6MWT.

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