Avaliação da qualidade de comprimidos de propranolol e enalapril distribuídos no sistema público de saúde em uma cidade do sul do BrasilEvaluation of the quality of propranolol and enalapril tablets supplied in the public health system in a southern Brazilian city Resumo A aquisição de medicamentos no serviço público de saúde brasileiro através de licitação com critério de menor preço gera preocupação com a qualidade dos produtos distribuídos à população. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade dos comprimidos de Enalapril 10 mg e Propranolol 40 mg adquiridos através de processo licitatório e distribuídos na rede pública de saúde de um município catarinense durante o período de um ano. Foram analisados: o aspecto visual, o peso médio, a friabilidade, o teor de fármaco e o tempo de dissolução. De um total de sete lotes, cinco apresentaram desvio da qualidade. Encontraram-se irregularidades no aspecto visual, peso médio, friabilidade e teor de princípio ativo. A avaliação dos medicamentos além de assegurar que os medicamentos dispensados na rede pública possuem qualidade e que podem ser utilizados com segurança pelos pacientes é também uma ferramenta para a qualificação de fornecedores e um subsídio para o aprimoramento do processo licitatório. Sugere-se a implantação de um sistema de gestão da qualidade que inclua a qualificação de fornecedores, o aperfeiçoamento do processo de licitação, incluindo especificações claras sobre a qualidade dos medicamentos adquiridos, bem como o monitoramento da qualidade integrado a ações de farmacovigilância. Palavras-chave Controle de qualidade, Aquisição, MedicamentosAbstract The acquisition of medication by the Brazilian public health service through bidding processes based on the lowest price criterion is a source of concern with respect to the quality of the products offered to the population. The scope of this work was to evaluate the quality of Enalapril 10 mg and Propranolol 40 mg tablets bought via the bidding process and supplied by the public health system in a city in the state of Santa Catarina, Brasil, over the course of a year. The visual aspect, weight variation, friability, drug content and dissolving time were analyzed. Out of seven lots, five presented quality deviation. Irregularities were found in the visual aspect, weight variation, friability and active ingredient. The evaluation of the quality of medication, besides ensuring the quality of the products supplied by the health system and safe usage by patients, is also a tool to evaluate medical supply companies and ensure the enhancement of the bidding process. The implementation of a management system that includes the evaluation of medical supply companies, improvement of the bidding process with clear specifications about the quality of the medicines bought are all recommended to ensure product safety.

Although the prevalence of antibiotics among hospitalized children was not that high, a considerable part of the sample presented inadequacy regarding the dosage and range of use. These data raise concerns about bacterial resistance and adverse reactions.

To estimate the frequency of the use of medicines listed in the Screening Tool to Alert Doctors to the Right Treatment (START) and Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria version 2 among the elderly. A cross-sectional study was conducted on elderly who were attended in medical clinic and cardiology sectors in a hospital in southern Brazil attended at a hospital from February through September 2016. A data-collection tool was used to obtain information on variables, such as demographic and clinical data, and medications used before and during the hospitalization period. The adequacy of the medicines taken was examined with regard to omission (START) or inappropriate use (STOPP). This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Southern Santa Catarina. A total of 307 subjects were included in the final sample. The mean age was 75.2 years (SD = 8; range 65-102). Of the total, 93.5% had had at least one potential prescribing omission (PPO) listed in the START criteria, whereas 95.4% used at least one medicine of the STOPP criteria. PPO was significantly associated with lower mean age (74.9 years, SD = 7.9 versus 79.0 years, SD = 8.8) among the elderly who did not have PPOs detected by the START criteria (p-value=0.03). Furthermore, PPO was associated with longer hospital stay (18 versus 9 days; p-value=0.03). This study revealed inadequate prescription affecting 99.3% of the participating patients. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first to use the START and STOPP criteria, version 2, in Brazil.

Medication discrepancies are of great concern in hospitals because they pose risks to patients and increase health care costs. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of inconsistent medication prescriptions to adult patients admitted to a hospital in southern Santa Catarina, Brazil. This was a patient safety study on patients recruited between November 2015 and June 2016. The participants were interviewed and had their medical records reviewed. Discrepant medications were considered those that did not match between the list of medicines taken at home and the prescribed drugs for treatment in a hospital setting. Of the 394 patients included, 98.5% took continuous-use medications at home, with an average of 5.5 medications per patient. Discrepancies totaled 80.2%, The independent variables associated with the discrepancies were systemic arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, vascular disease, number of medications taken at home, and poor documentation of the medications in the medical record. Findings from this study allowed us to conclude there was a high rate of prescription medication misuse. Medication reconciliation is crucial in reducing these errors. Pharmacists can help reduce these medication-related errors and the associated risks and complications.

Background The review of pharmacotherapy can be conceptualized as a service in which the drugs used by the patient are reviewed to control the risks as well as to improve the results of the drug therapy, detecting, solving, and preventing issues associated with the drug, readjusting the doses and times (schedule) so that the treatment is not incompatible or in duplicity. Methods The aim of the study was to validate an intelligent information system, which was developed to assist the scheduling activity in the pharmacotherapy review. The system used the concept of Genetic Algorithms. To validate the system, hypothetical cases were elaborated considering various aspects of pharmacotherapy such as underdose, overdose, drug interactions and contraindications. These cases were tested in the system and were also analyzed by pharmaceutical experts with clinical and research experience in the pharmacotherapy review process. The degree of agreement between the assessments of the appointments carried out by the pharmaceutical specialists and by the system were measured using the Kappa index with a 95% confidence interval. Results In detecting errors and make propositions, the system was able to identify 80% of errors, with pharmaceutical experts identifying between 20 and 70% of errors. In relation the results of kappa between the cases, the system had 87,3% of concordance, whereas the best pharmaceutical expert had 75,5% of concordance, considering the correct answer. Conclusion It can be concluded that with the methodology used, the investigation met the objectives and confirmed the system is effective for pharmaceutical review process. There are indications that the system can help in the Pharmacotherapy review process, being able to find prescription errors as well as to establish times for the use of medications according to the patient’s routine.