Surveillance of the Potential Drug-Drug
Interactions in the Medicine Department
of a Tertiary Care Hospital
1258-1261
Correspondence
Dr. Bharti Chogtu
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University,
Manipal, India.
bhartimagazine@gmail.com
Introduction: Drug-Drug Interactions (DDIs) account for 6-30% of the adverse drug events, pose a significant risk to the patient’s health outcome and they put an economic burden on the health care system. Polypharmacy significantly contributes to these interactions. This study was aimed at assessing the drug-drug interactions in the in-patients in the medicine department in a tertiary care hospital.
Materials and Methods:
The case records of 250 patients who were admitted in the medicine ward were analyzed regarding the demography of the patient, the prescription and the interaction details like the object drug, severity, management and the outcome.
Results:
The patients received drugs which ranged from 5 to 18. 66% of the patients had DDIs, with a majority being moderate in severity and occurring in the patients who received cardiovascular drugs. Age and gender did not have a significant effect on the drug- drug interactions.
Conclusion:
Most of the DDIs are preventable. The frequently occurring DDIs are seen between fluoroquinolones and oral antidiabetics, iron and pantoprazole, aspirin and clopidogrel.