Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in the intensive care unit of a Brazilian teaching hospital

Authors

  • Aline Teotonio Rodrigues State University of Campinas; Faculty of Medical Sciences
  • Rebeca Stahlschmidt State University of Campinas; Faculty of Medical Sciences
  • Silvia Granja State University of Campinas; Hospital of Clinics
  • Diogo Pilger Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul; School of Pharmacy
  • Antonio Luis Eiras Falcão University of Campinas; Faculty of Medical Sciences; Intensive Care Unit
  • Priscila Gava Mazzola State University of Campinas; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/s2175-97902017000116109

Keywords:

Potential drug-drug interactions, Intensive care unit, Patient safety, University hospitals.

Abstract

Patients in intensive care unit are prescribed large numbers of drugs, highlighting the need to study potential Drug-Drug Interactions in this environment. The aim of this study was to delineate the prevalence and risk of potential drug-drug interactions between medications administered to patients in an ICU. This cross-sectional observational study was conducted during 12 months, in an adult ICU of a teaching hospital. Inclusion criteria were: prescriptions with 2 or more drugs of patients admitted to the ICU for >; 24 hours and age of ≥18 years. Potential Drug-Drug Interactions were quantified and classified through MicromedexTM database. The 369 prescriptions included in this study had 205 different drugs, with an average of 13.04 ± 4.26 (mean ± standard deviation) drugs per prescription. Potential Drug-Drug Interactions were identified in 89% of these, with an average of 5.00 ± 5.06 interactions per prescription. Of the 405 different pairs of potentially interacting drugs identified, moderate and major interactions were present in 74% and 67% of prescriptions, respectively. The most prevalent interaction was between dipyrone and enoxaparin (35.8%), though its clinical occurrence was not observed in this study. The number of potential Drug-Drug Interactions showed significant positive correlations with the length of stay in the intensive care unit, and with the number of prescribed drugs. Acknowledging the high potential for Drug-Drug Interactions in the ICU represents an important step toward improving patient safety and best therapy results.

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Published

2017-01-01

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Section

Articles

How to Cite

Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in the intensive care unit of a Brazilian teaching hospital. (2017). Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 53(1), e16109-. https://doi.org/10.1590/s2175-97902017000116109