Pharmacy customers’ views and experiences of using pharmacies which provide needle exchange services in Aberdeen and Glasgow, Scotland

Community pharmacists contribution to the management of drug problems is considerable. As the use of illicit drugs has increased, pharmacists have come under increasing pressure to offer services to problem drug users. However, there is concern among some pharmacists that offering such services may deter other customers. There is particular concern among some pharmacists about needle exchange services. Only 9.5% of Scottish pharmacies offer needle exchange services compared to 69% which are dispensing methadone (57% of which supervise methadone consumption). Qualitative interviews were used in a purposive sample of 10 pharmacies in Scotland. Eight customers were interviewed in each pharmacy to ascertain pharmacy customers’ views on these services. The majority of customers were supportive of these services. Customers were often unaware that the pharmacy they were interviewed in was offering services for people with drug problems. Pharmacy customers were more knowledgeable about, and more supportive, of needle exchange services than they were of methadone. This was because they believed needle exchange services helped to reduce the amount of discarded needles in public places. Pharmacy customers also recognised that needle exchange helped reduce the spread of disease. These findings should be used to encourage more pharmacists to offer needle exchange services.     

Diminished susceptibility to daptomycin accompanied by clinical failure in a patient with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

We cared for a patient with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia who experienced clinical failure with daptomycin. The failure was accompanied by progressive elevation of the daptomycin minimum inhibitory concentration during treatment. DNA fingerprinting confirmed that the minimum inhibitory concentration elevation occurred within the same strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This observation provides important new information to clinicians who adopt this promising drug for treatment of serious infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.     

Trends in Folic Acid Awareness and Behavior in the United States: The Gallup Organization for the March of Dimes Foundation Surveys, 1995–2005

Objective: To summarize changes in folic acid awareness, knowledge, and behavior among women of childbearing age in the United States since the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) 1992 folic acid recommendation and later fortification. Methods: Random-digit dialed telephone surveys were conducted of approximately 2000 women (per survey year) aged 18–45 years from 1995–2005 in the United States. Results: The percentage of women reporting having heard or read about folic acid steadily increased from 52% in 1995 to 84% in 2005. Of all women surveyed in 2005, 19% knew folic acid prevented birth defects, an increase from 4% in 1995. The proportion of women who reported learning about folic acid from health care providers increased from 13% in 1995 to 26% in 2005. The proportion of all women who reported taking a vitamin supplement containing folic acid increased slightly from 28% in 1995 to 33% in 2005. Among women who were not pregnant at the time of the survey in 2005, 31% reported taking a vitamin containing folic acid daily compared with 25% in 1995. Conclusions: The percentage of women taking folic acid daily has increased modestly since 1995. Despite this increase, the data show that the majority of women of childbearing age still do not take a vitamin containing folic acid daily. Health care providers and maternal child health professionals must continue to promote preconceptional health among all women of childbearing age, and encourage them to take a vitamin containing folic acid daily.