Browsing by Author "Fernandes, Ana Isabel"
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- 4Ps - perceções, preferências e prescrição personalizadaPublication . Nogueira, Sofia; Fernandes, Ana Isabel
- About the effect of eye blinking on drug release from pHEMA-based hydrogels: an in vitro studyPublication . Galante, Raquel; Paradiso, Patrizia; Moutinho, Maria Guilhermina; Fernandes, Ana Isabel; Mata, José; Matos, António; Colaço, Rogério; Saramago, Benilde; Serro, Ana Paula"The development of new ophthalmic drug delivery systems capable of increasing the residence time of drugs in the eye and improve its bioavailability relatively to eyedrops has been object of intense research in recent years. Several studies have shown that drug loaded therapeutic soft contact lenses (SCLs) constitute a promising approach, with several potential advantages as compared with collyria. The main objective of this work is to study the effect of repetitive load and friction cycles caused by the eye blinking, on the drug release from hydrogels used in SCLs which, as far as we know, was never investigated before. Two poly-2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate based hydrogels, pHEMA-T and pHEMA-UV, were used as model materials. Levofloxaxin was chosen as model drug. The hydrogels were fully characterized in what concerns structural and physicochemical properties. PHEMA-UV revealed some superficial porosity and a lower short range order than PHEMA-T. We observe that the load and friction cycles enhanced the drug release from pHEMAUV hydrogels. The application of a simple mathematical model, which takes into account the drug dilution caused by the tear flow, showed that the enhancement of the drug release caused by blinking on this hydrogel may be relevant in in vivo conditions. Conversely, the more sustained drug release from pHEMA-T is not affected by load and friction cycles. The conclusion is that, depending on the physicochemical and microstructural characteristics of the hydrogels, blinking is a factor that may affect the amount of drug delivered to the eye by SCLs and should thus be considered."
- Addressing drug solubility problems : a case-studyPublication . Costa, Nuno F. da; Fernandes, Ana Isabel; Pinto, João F.
- Co-amorphization of olanzapine for solubility enhancementPublication . Costa, Nuno F. da; Fernandes, Ana Isabel; Pinto, João F. Pinto
- Coffee in the workplace: a social break or a performance enhancer?Publication . Rodrigues, Carla F.; Raposo, Hélder; Pegado, Elsa; Fernandes, Ana IsabelCoffee is a socially rooted drink with pharmacological properties. It is embedded in different everyday rituals, including ‘coffee breaks’ during working hours. This paper analyzes the role of coffee at workplace. Focusing on three professional areas associated with high pressure and responsive demands, we explore the social expression of coffee use at work, and how it is mobilized as a tool for managing sleepiness, fatigue, stress, and concentration problems, amongst other work-related issues.
- Cohesiveness of powdered co-amorphous Olanzapine and impact on tablet productionPublication . Costa, Nuno F. da; Pinto, João F.; Fernandes, Ana IsabelThe evaluation of the processability of co-amorphous mixtures is of paramount importance since these systems are increasingly used to address the poor solubility presented by most of the drugs in research and development. This work shows that co-amorphous olanzapine powders present higher cohesiveness than their crystalline counterpart and resulted in the production of tablets with a higher tensile strength and a slower release of the drug. As a result, this work demonstrates that despite the solubility advantages of co-amorphous mixtures, consideration should be given to the downstream processing of formulations containing such materials.
- Dispensing of food supplements in the treatment and prevention of urinary tract infectionsPublication . Setoca, Beatriz; Fernandes, Ana IsabelUrinary tract infections constitute an important public health issue due to recurrence and antibiotic resistance. Currently, antibiotics are the standard therapy but non-antibiotic approaches, such as food supplements, could be beneficial and reduce bacterial resistance. This work aimed at a better understanding of the perception of health professionals involved in dispensing and counselling, in the community pharmacy, regarding the utility of these products as preventive alternatives and therapeutic approaches.
- Drug-excipient and drug-drug mixtures : a pathway for the production of co-amorphous entitiesPublication . Costa, Nuno F. da; Fernandes, Ana Isabel; Pinto, João F.
- Drug-excipient and drug-drug mixtures: a pathway for the production of co-amorphous entitiesPublication . Costa, Nuno F. da; Fernandes, Ana Isabel; Pinto, João F.
- Drug-related problems identified in a sample of Portuguese institutionalised elderly patients and pharmacists’ interventions to improve safety and effectiveness of medicinesPublication . Costa, Filipa Alves da; Silvestre, Luísa; Periquito, Catarina; Carneiro, Clara; Oliveira, Pedro; Fernandes, Ana Isabel; Cavaco-Silva, Patrícia"Background Currently, people live longer but often with poor quality of life. The decrease in healthy life-years is partly attributable to the institution of polypharmacy to treat various comorbidities. Objectives The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and nature of drug-related problems (DRPs) in polypharmacy elderly patients residing in nursing homes and to test the acceptability of a pharmacist’s intervention. Methods An exposure cohort was constituted in three Portuguese nursing homes, where all polypharmacy (five or more medicines) elderly patients (≥65 years of age) were analysed and then a random stratified sample was extracted to be subject to an intervention. Clinical and therapeutic data were collected and analysed for DRPs and classified according to the II Granada Consensus, by a pharmacist-led team. The intervention was the formulation of a pharmacist’s recommendations to prescribers addressing clinically relevant DRPs, along with suggestions for therapy changes. Results The initial sample included 126 elderly patients taking 1332 medicines, where 2109 DRPs were identified. The exposure cohort included 63 patients, with comparable baseline data (p > 0.005). Manifest DRPs occurred in 31.7 % of the intervention group (mainly quantitative ineffectiveness–DRP 4), whereas potential DRPs were identified in 100 % of patients (mainly non-quantitative unsafe–DRP 5). Amongst the DRPs identified, 584 (56.7 %) were reported to prescribers (all types of DRPs) and 113 (11 %) to nurses (only non-quantitative ineffectiveness–DRP 3). A total of 539 pharmacist recommendations were presented to physicians, corresponding to 62 letters sent by mail, each including an average of 8.7 recommendations to solve DRPs present in intervention group (IG) patients. There was a high non-response rate (n = 34 letters; 54.8 %; containing 367 pharmacist recommendations; 68.1 %) and amongst recommendations receiving feedback, only 8.7 % of pharmacist recommendations made were accepted (n = 15). Positive responses were significantly associated with a lower number of recommendations made, whereas a higher number of recommendations increased the odds of no response (p < 0.001). Conclusion A pharmacist-led medication review proved useful in identifying DRPs in elderly polypharmacy nursing home residents. Stronger bonds must be developed between healthcare professionals to increase patient safety in the vulnerable institutionalised elderly population."
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