Browsing by Author "Abeysinghe, C.P."

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    Generic prescribing in outpatient departments in the Gampaha district
    (Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2002) Abeysinghe, C.P.; Pathmeswaran, A.
    OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of generic prescribing and associated factors in Outpatients' Departments (OPD) of government hospitals in the Gampaha district. DESIGN: The extent of generic prescribing was determined by analyzing a sample of OPD prescriptions from 8 hospitals (2 Base, 2 District, 2 Peripheral, and 2 Rural). A questionnaire survey was carried out among medical officers/practitioners working in these OPDs to assess their knowledge and attitudes regarding generic prescribing. The data was analysed manually. The Chi squared test was used to assess statistical significance. RESULTS: 700 prescriptions were analysed. 78% of prescriptions had either 3 or 4 drugs (mean 3.4). 52% of drugs were prescribed as generic at the Base Hospitals and this percentage decreased as the hospital got smaller with only 34% of drugs being prescribed as generic at the Rural Hospitals. This decreasing trend was statistically significant (p< 0.0001). When asked to write the generic name for 5 commonly used branded products only 6 out of 76 doctors got all 5 correct. The percentage of doctors who got the generic names correct for each of the following drugs were - Brufen (ibuprofen) 84%, Flagyl (metronidazole) 59%, Piriton (chlorpheniramine maleate) 40%, Phenergan ( promethazine hydrochloride) 24%, and Maxolon (metoclopramide) 14%. None of these OPD's had a copy of the Sri Lanka formulary accessible to the doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Drugs were prescribed by their generic name less than half the time. Medical officers had neither the knowledge nor adequate facilities to implement generic prescribing.
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    Metabolic syndrome, but not non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, increases 10-year mortality: A prospective, community-cohort study
    (Wiley-Blackwell, 2020) Niriella, M.A.; Kasturiratne, A.; Beddage, T.U.; Withanage, S. A.; Goonatilleke, D.C.; Abeysinghe, C.P.; de Mel, R.T.; Balapitiya, T.L.; de Silva, S.T.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Kato, N.; de Silva, H.J.
    BACKGROUND:Data on outcomes of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) from South Asia are lacking. We compared mortality, among those with- and without-NAFLD, after 10-years follow-up among urban, adult Sri Lankans.METHOD:Participants (aged 35-64 years), selected by age-stratified random sampling, were screened by structured-interview in 2007. Anthropometric measurements, liver ultrasonography and biochemical/serological tests were done. NAFLD was diagnosed on ultrasound criteria, safe-alcohol consumption (Asian-standards) and absence of hepatitis B/C. Subjects without NAFLD were those without any ultrasound criteria of fatty liver, safe-alcohol consumption and absence of hepatitis B/C. The cohort was re-evaluated to assess mortality in 2017. Participants or their households were contacted by telephone/post, and deaths confirmed by home-visits and death certificate review. Cox-regression was used to determine predictors of all-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) in those with- and without-NAFLD.RESULTS:2724 (91.2%) of 2985 original participants were contacted (851-with NAFLD and 1072-without NAFLD). Overall there were 169 (6.2%) deaths [41-deaths among NAFLD (17-cardiovascular; 9-cancer-related; 4-liver-specific; 11-other) and 79-deaths among no-NAFLD (28-cardiovascular; 17-cancer-related; 1-liver-specific; 33-other)]. Metabolic syndrome (MetS), low-education level, higher age and male-gender independently predicted ACM. MetS, increasing age and male-gender independently predicted CVM. NAFLD did not predict either ACM or CVM. In those with NAFLD, MetS and age >55-years were independently associated with ACM, while MetS and male-gender were associated with CVM.CONCLUSION:In this community-based study, increasing age, male-gender and MetS, but not NAFLD, predicted 10-year ACM and CVM. Among those with NAFLD, only those metabolically abnormal were at a higher risk for mortality.