Investigation of drug-related problems in patients hospitalized in chest disease wards: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), chest diseases are among the 10 diseases that cause the highest mortality worldwide. Drug-related problems (DRPs), readmission, and antimicrobial resistance are critical problems in chest disease wards. Active involvement of clinical pharmacists (CPs) who are focused on reducing the risks of potential problems is needed. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of pharmaceutical care (PC) services on the pulmonology service.Method: A randomized controlled trial at a university hospital in Istanbul was conducted between June 2020 and December 2021. The participants were randomized into the control group (CG) and intervention group (IG). In the CG, CPs identified and classified the DRPs according to Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe v9.0 (PCNE) and provided solutions to DRPs for the IG. The effect of PC services was evaluated by the number and classification of DRPs, and readmissions within 30 days were compared between the two groups.Results: Out of 168 patients, 82 were assigned to the IG. The average number of medicines administered per patient in the CG and IG was 14.45 ± 7.59 and 15.5 ± 6.18, respectively. In the CG and IG, the numbers of patients with DRPs were 62 and 46, respectively. The total number of DRPs was 160 for CG and 76 for IG. A statistically significant difference was found in favor of the IG, in terms of the number of patients with DRPs, the total number of DRPs, and readmission within 30 days (p < 0.05).Conclusion: In this study, CP recommendations were highly accepted by the healthcare team. Pharmaceutical care services provided by CPs would decrease possible DRPs and led to positive therapeutic outcomes. Cognitive clinical pharmacy services have beneficial effects on health care, and these services should be expanded in all settings where patients and pharmacists are present.

Interventions in Internal Medicine Wards With Scope of Clinical Pharmacy Residency Program: A Retrospective Study

“…Studies conducted by internal medicine wards and pharmacy students primarily focused on the proportion of interventions and acceptance rates. The acceptance rate of the recommendations made by the CPR in this study (65%) was lower than reported in the literature (68-96%) [7][8][9][10][14][15][16][19][20][21]. Studies that report high acceptance rates of clinical pharmacy recommendations were conducted in locations where the practice is well-established.…”

“…The low acceptance rate in this study could be attributed to the hospital's lack of routine clinical pharmacy services and the uncertainty of the healthcare team's attitude towards clinical pharmacists' interventions. Additionally, postgraduate studies in clinical pharmacy in Turkey are typically conducted in the later stages of students' education [9,20,21]. In contrast, this study examines the acceptance rate during the initial residency training phase.…”

Evaluation of Clinical Pharmacy Services in Patients Receiving Antithrombotic Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The sample size calculation for the study was conducted based on data from the literature 14 , indicating that DRPs were reduced by an average of 1 per patient in groups where CP made recommendations. The standard deviation was assumed to be 1.…”

Drug related problems. Classification. Prevention methods

“…В другом рандомизированном контролируемом исследовании было показано, что вмешательство клинического фармаколога у больных, госпитализированных в кардиологическое отделение, достоверно снижало количество ПСЛ в сравнении с контрольной группой [49].…”