To Identify and Analyse Potential Drug-Drug Interactions from the Medication Charts of Medicine Units of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital, Davangere

Author(s)

Devi, O.J., Blessy, K.G., Hephzibah, M.C., Vinay, D.M., Sushilkumar, P.L.

Author's Affiliation

Abstract

Drug-drug interactions have become an important issue in health care and may often lead to preventable adverse drug events and health damage. The objective of this prospective study is to identify and analyse the potential drug-drug interactions from the medication charts of medicine units of a tertiary care teaching hospital, Davangere. This prospective study was conducted for a period of 6 months. Data of all patients who were prescribed with more than three drugs were included in the study. The collected cases were analysed by using the commercially available software Micromedex^®- 2.0. The results of the identified pDDIs were notified to the physicians. Among 90 case collected, 33 (36.67%) patients were female and 57 (63.33%) patients were male. Out of 90 cases collected 74 (82.2%) cases were identified with 263 pDDIs. Maximum number of patients had shown moderate pDDIs 149 (56.7%). Antiplatelets (n=112) were the most frequently observed drugs with pDDIs. The most interacting drug pairs were Aspirin- clopidogrel, Atorvastatin- Clopidogrel (n=12). The patients who were prescribed with 12-15 drugs had the majority of pDDIs per person. Out of 143 drug combinations, 12 pDDIs were identified as beneficial with respect to that particular case. Results of this study indicated that pDDI is associated with increased number of drugs prescribed and increasing age of the patients. Drug combination involving antiplatelets were associated with greater risk of pDDIs. Physicians should be aware of these risks to better assess their patient’s therapeutic risk- benefit profiles.

Keywords

Adverse Drug Events, Potential Drug- Drug Interactions, Therapeutic Risk- Benefit Profiles

Cite This Article

Devi, O.J., Blessy, K.G., Hephzibah, M.C., Vinay, D.M., Sushilkumar, P.L. (2015). To Identify and Analyse Potential Drug- Drug Interactions from the Medication Charts of Medicine Units of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital, Davangere, International Journal for Pharmaceutical Research Scholars (IJPRS), 4(1), 196-204.