[Evaluation of depressive symptoms and resilience in patients on pharmacotherapeutic follow-up]. / Evaluación de síntomas depresivos y resiliencia en pacientes bajo seguimiento farmacoterapéutico.

This study aimed to carry out the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up of patients with depression and to assess its impact on the resilience of the patients. Patients were followed-up for 8 months. The pharmacist evaluated depressive symptoms, resilience, and the need for pharmaceutical intervention. The measurement tools used were the Dader method, PHQ-9, and a resilience scale. Data were analysed using BioStat 5.0 software and the performing of the Wilcoxon and Pearson correlation tests. There was a reduction in the rate of depressive symptoms from 12.9 to 5.2 (P<.0001), and an increase in the resilience score from 112.4 to 149.0 (P<.0001). Pharmaceutical interventions were made to resolve the drug related problems in the form of oral communication between pharmacist-patient or pharmacist-patient-doctor. The pharmaceutical care was effective in decreasing depression and contributed to the increased resilience of patients.

Pharmaceutical care to patients treated with antidepressants.

Depression is considered one of the ten most disabling conditions on the planet, causing physical, personal and social limitations. Antidepressants are the most commonly used drug treatment for eliminating or controlling the symptoms of depression. A variety of factors can contribute to treatment abandonment, particularly severe side effects. The present article is aimed to provide information and guidelines on the development of a pharmacotherapy follow-up program for patients treated with antidepressant medication. According to this practice, the pharmacist evaluates whether the three following requirements of a proper pharmacotherapy are being observed: need, effectiveness and safety. If one of these requirements is not met, the pharmacist seeks to solve the problem, by intervening in the pharmacotherapy, within the scope of his/her skills. Pharmaceutical care is aimed to improve adherence to treatment and minimize side effects, as well as the occurrence of drug interactions. Thus, the present article presents and discusses the main strategies of pharmaceutical care to achieve the proposed objectives.

A influência do acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico na adesão à terapia anti-hipertensiva e no grau de satisfação do paciente / Influence of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up on patient compliance and satisfaction with antihypertensive therapy

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi proporcionar o serviço de Acompanhamento Farmacoterapêutico (AFT) a pacientes hipertensos usuários da Farmácia Popular de Alfenas (MG), além de avaliar a adesão do usuário aos medicamentos antes e após o AFT e o grau de satisfação com o serviço prestado. O trabalho foi realizado com 27 pacientes de ambos os sexos e com faixa etária entre 40 e 70 anos ou mais. Os pacientes foram divididos em grupo controle e teste, ambos responderam ao questionário de adesão no início do estudo e, ao final, apenas os pacientes do grupo teste o fizeram. Os pacientes do grupo teste receberam Acompanhamento Farmacoterapêutico durante dez meses (2008) e, ao final desse período, responderam o questionário de satisfação pelo serviço. Um dos motivos mais importantes para a não adesão foi o esquecimento de administrar o medicamento (67% para ambos os grupos). Outros fatores, como a falta de informação sobre a doença e a não compreensão sobre como utilizar os medicamentos, foram sanados com a intervenção farmacêutica. Dos pacientes participantes desta pesquisa, 80% achavam importante o trabalho conjunto do farmacêutico com o médico e 100% disseram que continuariam a utilizar o serviço prestado e o indicariam a amigos e parentes. Os dados sugerem que as intervenções farmacêuticas foram efetivas no sentido de aumentar a adesão no grupo que recebeu AFt e que os pacientes ficaram satisfeitos com o serviço prestado.

This research was designed to provide a Pharmacotherapeutic Follow-up (PF) service to hypertensive patients who attend the Popular Pharmacy in Alfenas (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and to assess user adherence to medication before and after the PF and the degree of satisfaction with the service rendered. This study was carried out with 27 patients of both sexes, aged 40 years and above. The patients were divided into two groups, control and test; all patients answered the adherence questionnaire at the beginning of the study and, at the end, only those in the test group. The patients in the test group received PF for ten months (2008) and, at the end of this period, they were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their satisfaction with the service. One of the commonest reasons given for non-adherence to medication was forgetfulness (67% for both groups). Other problems, such as lack of information on the disease and poor understanding of how to take the medicines, were solved by pharmaceutical intervention. According to 80% of the patients involved, this teamwork between pharmacist and physician is important, and 100% reported they would continue to use the service and would recommend it to friends and relatives. The data suggest that pharmaceutical interventions were effective in improving adherence to medication among patients in the group that received PF and that the patients were satisfied with the service given.