Introduction:Globally, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is one of the leading causes of mortality.Impaired renal function makes CKD patients vulnerable to drug-related problems (DRPs). AimThe aim of this systematic review was to investigate the prevalence and nature of DRPs among hospital in-patients with CKD. MethodsA systematic review of the literature was conducted using Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science (Core Collection), CINAHL plus (EBSCO), Cochrane Library (Wiley), Scopus (ELSEVIER) and PubMed (U.S.NLM) from index inception to January 2020. Studies investigating DRPs in hospitalised CKD patients published in English language were included. Two independent reviewers extracted the data and undertook quality assessment using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tool. ResultsA total of 2895 unique titles were identified; with 20 meeting the inclusion criteria.DRPs prevalence in CKD was reported between 12% to 87%. The most common DRPs included ineffective treatment, inappropriate drug choice, and dosing problems.Antibiotics, H2-antihistamine and oral antidiabetics (metformin) were common drug classes involved in DRPs. Factors associated with DRPs included severity of CKD, the number of medications taken, age, length of hospital stay, and gender. ConclusionThis systematic review provides evidence that DRPs are a frequent occurrence and burden for hospitalised patients with stage 1-4 CKD. Heterogeneity in study design, case detection and definitions are common, and future studies should have use clearer definitions and study designs.

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