Mahasarakham University

The contamination of sulfonamide in food and environmental applications has highlighted a great necessity to develop amphoteric adsorbents for their simultaneous extraction and determination. The combination of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide with alginate-MS, which has a wide surface area, high porosity, high water absorption, and biodegradability, as an adsorbent for the determination of sulfonamide residues by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector (UHPLC-PDA) was proposed. Convenient conditions led to the facile synthesis of the sorbent. The sorbent was then characterized. Under the optimized conditions, good analytical performance of the proposed μ-SPE method was obtained with a wide linear range (3-70 μg L^-1) and low detection limit (0.3-0.9 μg L^-1). The limits of detection ranged between 0.9 and 3.0 μg L^-1 for all analytes. The precision in term of relative standard deviation was less than 5 % and 13 % for intra-day and inter-days, respectively. In addition, the proposed method provides high enrichment factor ranging from 40 to 76 fold. The developed method demonstrates excellent applicability for efficiently determining sulfonamide residuals in honey samples with satisfactory recoveries in the range of 76.2-115.1 %. The four greenness assessment tools were selected to prove the eco-friendly nature of the method.

Pictograms are widely used in pharmacy practice to enhance patient understanding, especially in contexts where language or health literacy barriers exist. However, limited data are available on the comprehension of United States Pharmacopeia Convention: Drug Information for the Health Care Professional (USP-DI) pictograms among Thai undergraduate students. This study assessed the understanding of USP-DI pictograms and medication-use literacy, and explored factors associated with pictogram comprehension.

A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted among 637 university students between August 2023 and April 2024. The Medication Use Literacy Test (MULT) assessed literacy, and the USP-DI pictogram comprehension test evaluated visual understanding. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with comprehension levels.

Among the 637 participants, the MULT revealed high literacy, with over 90% of questions answered correctly. The mean score for USP-DI pictogram comprehension was 21.82 ± 3.82. Students in health sciences programmes demonstrated the highest proficiency in both tests, followed by those in social sciences and science and technology programmes, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that students aged >20 years had lower pictogram comprehension than younger students (odds ratio [OR] = 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.25-0.88; P = 0.02). Students with a Grade Point Average <3.00/4.00 (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.32-0.96; P = 0.04) and those from non-health science faculties (OR = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.02-0.08; P < 0.001) also showed significantly lower comprehension levels.

This study highlights disparities in pictogram comprehension among Thai undergraduates and affirms the influence of academic discipline, age, and academic performance. The findings support the need for targeted educational strategies to enhance medication-use literacy and pictogram understanding.

TDF/3TC/DTG (TLD) has been adopted as the first-line therapy for all people with HIV according to the WHO 2019 and Thai HIV guidelines. As a result, people with HIV in Thailand on TDF/FTC/EFV are switched to TLD. However, increasing data demonstrate the efficacy and renal safety of the TDF-sparing dual therapy with DTG + 3TC compared with TDF-based combination ART (cART) as a switching therapy. A direct comparison of estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) among people with HIV treated with TDF-based regimens who switch to TLD vs. DTG + 3TC is yet to be made.

We enrolled virologically suppressed people with HIV aged ≥18 years currently on TDF + FTC + EFV to either switch to TLD or DTG + 3TC at two tertiary care hospitals. The switching regimen was chosen at the physicians' discretion. The primary outcome was the change in eGFR, calculated by creatinine at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included changes in LDL, body weight, and BMI at 24 weeks.

Among 53 recruited participants, 28 and 15 completed the second follow-up in the TLD and DTG + 3TC groups, respectively. The mean age was higher in the TLD group compared to the DTG + 3TC group (Table 1). The median time from HIV diagnosis to switching was 8.5 years. The eGFR reduction was significantly greater in the TLD group than in the DTG + 3TC group: -17.24 ± 9.24 vs. -8.4 ± 9.03 mL/min/1.73 m² (p = 0.004). All participants in both groups achieved virological suppression. There was no significant change in CD4 counts between the two groups. Switching to DTG + 3TC was associated with a significantly smaller decline in eGFR post-switch (mean difference: 6.216 mL/min/1.73 m²; 95% CI 0.169-12.263; p = 0.044) compared to those who switched to TLD.

There was a significant reduction in eGFR among people with HIV who switched to TLD compared to those switched to DTG + 3TC. Changes in LDL and BMI were comparable between groups. Dual therapy with DTG + 3TC may be a preferred switching option over TLD for individuals with renal safety concerns. Further randomized prospective trials with longer follow-up are warranted to confirm these findings.