1Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
2An-Najah BioSciences Unit, Centre for Poisons Control, Chemical and Biological Analyses, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
3Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
© 2017, Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Authors’ contributions
Conceptualization: RS. Data curation: MK HA YM RO SS. Formal analysis: RS. Methodology: RS MK HA YM RO SS. Project administration: RS. Visualization: RS MK HA YM RO SS. Writing–original draft: RS. Writing–review & editing: RS.
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Variable | No. (%) |
---|---|
Age (yr) | |
<35 | 330 (82.5) |
≥35 | 70 (17.5) |
Gender | |
Male | 201 (50.3) |
Female | 199 (49.8) |
Place of residence | |
Urban | 290 (72.5) |
Rural | 110 (27.5) |
Degree | |
Basic degree (BSc Pharm or PharmD) | 395 (98.8) |
Higher degree (MSc or PhD) | 5 (1.2) |
No. of years in practice (yr) | |
<5 | 208 (52.0) |
≥5 | 192 (48.0) |
Practice setting | |
Community pharmacy | 288 (72.0) |
Hospital pharmacy | 102 (25.5) |
Others (insurance, etc.) | 10 (2.5) |
Had taken a course on psychotropic medications during their | |
pharmacy degree program | |
Yes | 234 (58.5) |
No | 166 (41.5) |
Statement | Response distribution |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
True | False | I don’t know | |||
Statements related to dosage | |||||
1.Due to changed metabolism and a higher sensitivity, older persons need a lower dose of antipsychotics or benzodiazepines in order to get the same effect. | 286 (71.5) | 87 (21.8) | 27 (6.8) | ||
2.The recommended daily dosage of olanzapine (Zyprexa) is 50 to 100 mg in older people with severe behavioral disorders in dementia. | 175 (43.8) | 159 (39.8) | 66 (16.5) | ||
3.The recommended daily dose of risperidone (Risperdal) is 0.5 to 2 mg in older people with severe behavioral disorders in dementia. | 279 (69.8) | 85 (21.3) | 36 (9.0) | ||
4.Ageing is associated with physiological changes in the sleeping pattern. To reverse these changes in the sleep pattern, hypnosedative medications may be used in low dose during a short period. | 279 (69.8) | 89 (22.3) | 32 (8.0) | ||
Statements related to selection of appropriate medications | |||||
5.With the exception of delirium tremens, antipsychotics are preferred above benzodiazepines for sedating older patients with severe agitation or delirium. | 256 (64.0) | 81 (20.3) | 63 (15.8) | ||
6.Antipsychotic medications can have a place in the treatment of delirium. | 298 (74.5) | 66 (16.5) | 36 (9.0) | ||
7.Antipsychotic medications reduce such symptoms as delusions and hallucinations. | 288 (72.0) | 82 (20.5) | 30 (7.5) | ||
8.In the care of older adults with dementia, antipsychotic medications are preferred over behavior-oriented therapy. | 222 (55.5) | 134 (33.5) | 44 (11.0) | ||
9.Only in severe cases of sleeplessness and failure of alternative therapies with proven effectiveness, hypnosedatives can be administrated for a short period of time in the old. | 294 (73.5) | 76 (19.0) | 30 (7.5) | ||
10.The effects of diazepam (Valium), a benzodiazepine, can last for a long time (up to 300 hours), making it not proper to use in this age category. | 212 (53.0) | 112 (28.0) | 76 (19.0) | ||
11.Next to non-pharmacological therapies, hypnosedatives are to be used for treatment and minimization of the symptoms of anxiety disorders. | 339 (84.8) | 36 (9.0) | 25 (6.3) | ||
Statements related to side effects | |||||
12.Use of hypnosedatives can lead to physical and emotional dependency. | 314 (78.5) | 61 (15.3) | 25 (6.3) | ||
13.Long-term (3 months or above) intake of antipsychotic medications increases the risk for cerebrovascular accidents. | 217 (54.3) | 126 (31.5) | 57 (14.3) | ||
14.Antipsychotic medications can cause side effects in the old such as disorientation, urine retention, dry mouth, and blurred vision. | 334 (83.5) | 43 (10.8) | 23 (5.8) | ||
15.Long-term intake (3 months or above) of atypical antipsychotic medications can lead to an increase in weight. | 268 (67.0) | 81 (20.3) | 51 (12.8) | ||
16.Patients starting on antipsychotic medication are susceptible to postural hypotension. | 237 (59.3) | 114 (28.5) | 49 (12.3) | ||
17.One of the side effects of Haloperidol (Haldol) is akathisia, which manifests with constant pacing and restlessness. | 250 (62.5) | 89 (22.3) | 61 (15.3) | ||
18.There is a connection between long-term (3 months or above) intake of antipsychotic medications and the prevalence of falls in the old. | 251 (62.8) | 67 (16.8) | 82 (20.5) | ||
19.Benzodiazepines can lead to side effects in the old like confusion, memory and concentration disorders. | 303 (75.8) | 62 (15.5) | 35 (8.8) |
Variable | No. (%) | < 50% | ≥ 50% | x2 | P-value | Correlation | P-value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age (yr) | 4.04 | 0.044 | -0.10 | 0.045 | |||
<35 | 330 (82.5) | 92 | 238 | ||||
≥35 | 70 (17.5) | 28 | 42 | ||||
Gender | 4.48 | 0.04 | 0.11 | 0.034 | |||
Male | 201 (50.3) | 70 | 131 | ||||
Female | 199 (49.8) | 50 | 149 | ||||
Place of residence | 1.49 | 0.271 | 0.07 | 0.163 | |||
Urban | 290 (72.5) | 82 | 208 | ||||
Rural | 110 (27.5) | 38 | 72 | ||||
Degree | 0.65 | 0.654 | 0.07 | 0.140 | |||
Basic degree (BSc Pharm or Pharm的 | 395 (98.8) | 229 | 166 | ||||
Higher degree (MSc or PhD) | 5 (1.2) | 2 | 3 | ||||
No. of years in practice (yr) | 0.92 | 0.382 | -0.05 | 0.338 | |||
<5 | 208 (52.0) | 58 | 150 | ||||
≥5 | 192 (48.0) | 62 | 130 | ||||
Practice setting | 0.64 | 0.756 | -0.06 | 0.223 | |||
Community pharmacy | 288 (72.0) | 165 | 123 | ||||
Hospital pharmacy | 102 (25.5) | 59 | 43 | ||||
Others (hospital, insurance) | 10 (2.5) | 7 | 3 | ||||
Had a course on psychotropic medications during their pharmacy degree program | 4.15 | 0.047 | -0.10 | 0.042 | |||
Yes | 234 (58.5) | 61 | 173 | ||||
No | 166 (41.5) | 59 | 107 |
BSc Pharm, bachelor of science in pharmacy; MSc, master of science in pharmacy; PharmD, doctor of pharmacy; PhD, doctor of philosophy
Values are presented as number (%). Correct answers are in boldface.
BSc Pharm, bachelor of science in pharmacy; MSc, master of science in pharmacy; PharmD, doctor of pharmacy; PhD, doctor of philosophy.