Comparing potential drug-drug interactions in veterinary medications using two electronic databases

Abstract

Background: One of the most common global health issues in humans and animals is drug-drug interactions (DDIs). This issue increases the risks associated with healthcare in both human and veterinary medicine, as animals live long lives and receive many medicines to treat their illnesses. Currently, many electronic databases are being used as tools for potential DDI prediction, for example, Micromedex and Drugs.com. The purpose of this study was to examine the different abilities for the identification of potential DDIs in veterinary medicines by Micromedex and Drugs.com. Results: A list of 140 drugs, mainly used for the treatment of disease in animal hospitals, was complied, but the Micromedex and Drugs.com databases could recognise only 96 of these drugs. After inputting the recognised drug list into the databases, Micromedex showed 429 pairs of potential DDIs, whilst Drugs.com showed 842 pairs of potential DDIs. The analysis comparing results between the two databases showed 139 pairs (12.28%) with the same severity and 993 pairs (87.72%) with different severities. Major mechanisms of contraindicated and major potential DDIs were cytochrome P450 induction-inhibition and QT interval prolongation.Conclusion: Although Micromedex had a lower sensitivity to identify potential DDIs than Drugs.com, Micromedex provided more informative documentation. Veterinary pharmacists should evaluate potential DDIs from several databases and communicate with both the veterinarian and animal owner to ensure an appropriate drug prescription.