Drug-related problems identified by clinical pharmacist's students and pharmacist's interventions

Background: Drug-related problems constitute a major public health problem, because of their consequences on morbidity, mortality and cost.

Patients and methods: A 6-month prospective study was conducted, including hospitalized patients in the internal medicine ward of the University Hospital of Beirut, in order to identify drug-related problems by clinical pharmacist's students participating in routine medical rounds, to assess the characteristics of patients presenting these drug-related problems and to analyze pharmacist's interventions.

Results: Ninety patients presenting drug-related problems were identified. Thirty-two percent were hydro-electrolytic problems and 24% gastrointestinal. Cardiovascular drugs were the most frequently implicated (44%), followed by anticoagulants (17%) and corticosteroids (14%). The most commonly identified drug-related problems were drug interactions (37%), overdosage (28%), non-conformity to guidelines or contra-indications (23%), underdosage (10%) and improper administration (2%). The clinical pharmacist's interventions consisted of dose adjustment (38%), addition drugs (31%), changes in drugs (29%) and optimization of administration (2%).

Discussion and conclusion: To decrease the risk of drug-related problems, drug treatment requires physicians to abide by prescribing recommendations, notably in elderly patients, as well as pharmacists' effective intervention at all levels. Routine participation of clinical pharmacists in clinical medical rounds facilitates the identification of drug-related problems and may prevent their occurrence.