RESUMEN
Objectives: Drug-related problems (DRPs) result in serious problems among hospitalized patients, high rates of morbidity and mortality, and increased healthcare costs. This study aimed to identify DRPs by clinical pharmacist-led medication review in hospitalized probable patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the COVID-19 inpatient services of a tertiary university hospital in Türkiye for 3 months (between March 2020 and June 2020) and included hospitalized confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients. The World Health Organization and Turkish Ministry of Health Guidelines case definitions were used to define confirmed and probable COVID-19 patients. Six clinical pharmacy residents provided medication review services during their education and training. DRPs were classified based on the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe V9.00. The physician's acceptance rate of clinical pharmacists' recommendations was assessed. Results: Among 202 hospitalized patients with probable or confirmed COVID-19, 132 (65.3%) had at least one drug-related problem. Two hundred and sixty-four DRPs were identified. Drug selection (85.6%) and dose selection (9.2%) were the most common causes of these problems. Among the 80 clinical pharmacist interventions, 48.8% were accepted by the physicians. Conclusion: Clinical pharmacists identified a significant number of DRPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those related to drug interactions and drug safety, such as adverse drug reactions. This study highlights the importance of detecting and responding to DRPs in the COVID-19 pandemic.
RESUMEN
Objectives: To determine the prevalence and type of medication discrepancies and factors associated with unintentional discrepancies and identify the rate of hospital readmission and emergency service visit within 30 days after discharge among hospitalized patients with infectious diseases and receiving clinical pharmacist-led medication reconciliation during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: This observational study was conducted in the internal medicine and infectious diseases wards of a tertiary university hospital between July 2020 and February 2021 among hospitalized adult patients with infectious diseases. Medication reconciliation service (including patient counseling) was provided in person or by telephone. The number and type of medication discrepancies detected during the medication reconciliation services, the acceptance rate of pharmacists' recommendation, and factors associated with having at least one unintentional medication discrepancy at admission were evaluated. At follow-up, hospital readmission and emergency service visit within 30 days after discharge were assessed by telephone. Results: Among 146 patients, 84 (57.5%) had at least one unintentional discrepancy at admission. Only three unintentional discrepancies were determined in three patients at hospital discharge. All the pharmacists' recommendations for medication discrepancies were accepted by the physicians. Having COVID-19 [odds ratio (OR): 2.25, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15-4.40; p<0.05], being at a high risk for medication error (OR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.03-3.92; p<0.05), and higher number of medications used at home (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.23-1.61; p<0.001) were associated with having at least one unintentional discrepancy at admission. The rates of 30 day hospital readmission and admission to the emergency medical service were 12.3% and 15.8%, respectively. Conclusion: Medication reconciliation service provided by in-person or by telephone was useful for detecting and solving unintentional medication discrepancies during the COVID-19 pandemic.