DHA Pharmacist Exam case studies
DHA Pharmacist Exam · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The DHA Pharmacist Exam is the licensure assessment used by the Dubai Health Authority for pharmacists who wish to register and practise in the Emirate of Dubai. It is aimed at pharmacy graduates - whether trained inside the UAE or abroad - who need to demonstrate that their knowledge meets the standard expected of a practising pharmacist in Dubai's healthcare system. The DHA Pharmacist Exam case studies are 5 cases and about 3,434 words.
1Elderly woman with heart failure, CKD and suspected digoxin toxicity after a new NSAID
A 78-year-old woman with heart failure (EF 35%), atrial fibrillation and stage 4 chronic kidney disease (baseline creatinine 150 micromol/L, eGFR 26 mL/min/1.73 m2) is brought to the emergency department with 3 days of nausea, anorexia, confusion and blurred yellow-tinged vision. Her regular medicines are ramipril 10 mg daily, spironolactone 25 mg daily, furosemide 40 mg daily, carvedilol 6.25 mg twice daily and digoxin 0.25 mg daily.
769 words, about 4 min2Discharge reconciliation after hip surgery in an 82-year-old on four antithrombotic-risk medicines
An 82-year-old woman weighing 55 kg with permanent atrial fibrillation is discharged from hospital after a hip hemiarthroplasty following a fall. Discharge prescription: apixaban 5 mg twice daily, aspirin 81 mg daily, ibuprofen 400 mg three times daily, oxycodone 5 mg every 6 hours as needed, paracetamol 1 g four times daily, atorvastatin 20 mg nightly.
596 words, about 3 min3Releasing a calcium- and phosphate-containing three-in-one TPN bag
A 2 L three-in-one total parenteral nutrition bag is prescribed for a 61-year-old man in the ICU: amino acids 6%, dextrose 25%, lipid 20% providing about 40% of non-nitrogen energy, plus calcium gluconate 10 mmol and potassium phosphate 30 mmol added to the same bag, together with a standard trace element and multivitamin mix. The final concentrations are calcium 5 mmol/L and phosphate 15 mmol/L.
697 words, about 3 min4A late-night prescription for alprazolam written by a dentist with two repeats
A man in his late twenties presents at 22:30 to your community pharmacy with a handwritten prescription for alprazolam 1 mg tablets, quantity 60, with two repeats, issued by a dentist and dated 24 days ago. He is not a regular customer, has no insurance card and insists on paying cash.
573 words, about 3 min5Appraising a new oral anticoagulant trial for the P&T committee
The pharmacy and therapeutics committee is reviewing a new oral anticoagulant. The pivotal trial enrolled 12,000 patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation; over a median follow-up of 2.8 years the primary composite of stroke or systemic embolism occurred in 8.1% with the new drug versus 9.6% with warfarin (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.98, p = 0.03).
799 words, about 4 min