A prospective observational study of drug therapy problems in medical ward of a referral hospital in northeast Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundDrug therapy problem is any undesirable event experienced by a patient during drug therapy that interferes with achieving the desired goals of therapy. Drug therapy problems are common causes of patient morbidity and mortality. There was no study that has been done on drug therapy problems in the study area, Dessie referral hospital, northeast Ethiopia.MethodA prospective observational study was conducted among hospitalized patients in the medical ward of Dessie referral hospital from March 01 to May 31, 2014. Ethical approval was obtained and informed consent was signed by each study participant before the commencement of the study. All patients admitted to the ward during the study period were included in the study. Data regarding each patient’s demographics, medical condition, drug therapy and patient compliance to the drug therapy were collected using pretested checklists, and drug therapy problems were determined based on the standard practice and textbooks. Descriptive statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version 20 Software.ResultA total of 147 patients were included, 75.51% of whom experienced at least one drug therapy problem. During the 3 month period a total of 159 drug therapy problems were identified of which needs additional drug therapy (35.85%) was the most common followed by unnecessary drug therapy (30.19%) and dosage too low (13.2%). Antibiotics, 75 (40.32%) was the most frequent drug class involved in drug therapy problems followed by cardiovascular drugs, 69 (37.1%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 9 (4.84%). Ceftriaxone (25.81%) was the most frequent specific drug prone to the drug therapy problems followed by spiranolactone (14.52%), enalapril (6.45%) and furosemide (6.45%).ConclusionsThree out of four patients experienced at least one drug therapy problem during their hospital stay in the medical ward, with the most commonly observed DTP being no drug therapy prescribed for a condition requiring drug treatment.

Magnitude and determinants of drug therapy problems among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with hypertension in Ethiopia

“…In this study, approximately two-thirds of patients (62.4%) experienced one or more DTPs. The magnitude is lower than Niriayo et al 34 (83.5%) and Belayneh et al 35 (75.5%) studies. This higher incidence may be due to the different study participants; Niriayo et al 34 targeted heart failure patients while Belayneh et al 35 conducted among medical ward admitted patients.…”

“…The magnitude is lower than Niriayo et al 34 (83.5%) and Belayneh et al 35 (75.5%) studies. This higher incidence may be due to the different study participants; Niriayo et al 34 targeted heart failure patients while Belayneh et al 35 conducted among medical ward admitted patients. In addition, the mean number of DTPs was 1.86 ± 0.53 per patient, which is in line with the studies by Ayele et al 36 (1.8), Koyra et al 15 (1.8 ± 0.75), and Huri and Wee 14 (1.9 ± 1.2).…”

“…In this study, non-compliance (197, 40.1%), need additional drug therapy (119, 24.2%), and dose too low (91, 18.5%) were the frequently identified DTPs. This is inconsistent with Belayneh et al, 35 who reported that needs additional drug therapy (35.85%) was the most common DTP followed by unnecessary drug therapy (30.19%) and dosage too low (13.2%). Contrastingly, a Spanish study revealed that non-adherence was the frequently identified DTP.…”

Medication‐related problems and adverse drug reactions in Ethiopia: A systematic review

“…The oldest study was published in 2012, 17 while the most recent was in 2020 18 . Twenty‐four studies were conducted on MRPs, of which 15 studies were conducted in a specific patient population, and the remaining were conducted among general/nonspecific patient populations 19‐26 . In addition, eight studies targeted ADRs.…”

Drug Use Evaluation of Beta-Blockers in Medical Wards of Nedjo General Hospital, Western Ethiopia

“…In the general population, it is estimated that approximately 5 to 10% of all hospital admissions are drug-related, and about 22% of patients are discharged with inappropriate drugs. About 28% of emergency department visits are drugrelated [21].…”