Rahila Tarannum1, Arifa Muneeb1, Farsia Sameen1, Gulnaz Khanum1, Javed Akhtar Ansari1*, Rafia Sultana2.
1Department of Pharmacy Practice (PharmD), MESCO College of Pharmacy, (Osmania University), Hyderabad, INDIA.
2Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Osmania General Hospital, Afzal Gunj, Hyderabad, INDIA.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Volume 6, Issue 2, Page 53-58.
*Author for correspondence
E-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Background: To assess the prevalence, severity, and significance of potential drug interactions in the Department of General Medicine of a tertiary care hospital.
Subject and Methods: It is a prospective observational study done over a period of six months that includes established cases of Drug Interactions.100 patients were evaluated for their socio-demographic details, clinical characteristics of the disease and medication prescribed. The medications of the patients were analyzed for possible interactions using the standard drug interaction database ‑ Micromedex× 2.0.
Results: A total of 100 cases were reviewed, with the age group between 18 to 75 years. A total of 87 prescriptions were found to have drug interactions. A total of 49 drug interactions were reported to the physician during the study period. Majority (22.8%, n=114) of the i10nteractions were moderate. The Prevalence of drug interactions was 29.3%. The interactions found most frequently in the present study are ceftriaxone and furosemide (21.98%), followed by norfloxacin and ondansetron (13.7%) phenytoin and atorvastatin(11.4%), chlorpheniramine and midazolam (8.04%%), azithromycin and calcium carbonate (2.29%) and enalapril and furosemide (1.14%). The results of our study revealed that the majority of drug interactions were found in the prescriptions of cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusion: Patients with co-morbid conditions and elderly were found to be associated with more number of drug interactions. Potential drug interactions are frequent among patients prescribed with multiple medications and the rate is directly related to the number of drugs prescribed.
Keywords: Drug interactions, Polypharmacy, Cardiovascular, Hypertension, Elderly.
Background: To assess the prevalence, severity, and significance of potential drug interactions in the Department of General Medicine of a tertiary care hospital.
Subject and Methods: It is a prospective observational study done over a period of six months that includes established cases of Drug Interactions.100 patients were evaluated for their socio-demographic details, clinical characteristics of the disease and medication prescribed. The medications of the patients were analyzed for possible interactions using the standard drug interaction database ‑ Micromedex× 2.0.
Results: A total of 100 cases were reviewed, with the age group between 18 to 75 years. A total of 87 prescriptions were found to have drug interactions. A total of 49 drug interactions were reported to the physician during the study period. Majority (22.8%, n=114) of the i10nteractions were moderate. The Prevalence of drug interactions was 29.3%. The interactions found most frequently in the present study are ceftriaxone and furosemide (21.98%), followed by norfloxacin and ondansetron (13.7%) phenytoin and atorvastatin(11.4%), chlorpheniramine and midazolam (8.04%%), azithromycin and calcium carbonate (2.29%) and enalapril and furosemide (1.14%). The results of our study revealed that the majority of drug interactions were found in the prescriptions of cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusion: Patients with co-morbid conditions and elderly were found to be associated with more number of drug interactions. Potential drug interactions are frequent among patients prescribed with multiple medications and the rate is directly related to the number of drugs prescribed.
Keywords: Drug interactions, Polypharmacy, Cardiovascular, Hypertension, Elderly.
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