Impact of pharmacotherapeutic education on medication adherence and adverse outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a prospective, randomized study.

AIM: To evaluate the impact of pharmacotherapeutic education on 30-day post-discharge medication adherence and adverse outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: The prospective, randomized, single-center study was conducted at the Medical Department of University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, between April and June 2018. One hundred and thirty adult patients with T2DM who were discharged to the community were randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group. Both groups during the hospital stay received the usual diabetes education. The intervention group received additional individual pre-discharge pharmacotherapeutic education about the discharge prescriptions. Medication adherence and occurrence of adverse outcomes (adverse drug reactions, readmission, emergency department visits, and death) were assessed at the follow-up visit, 30 days after discharge. RESULTS: The number of adherent patients was significantly higher in the intervention group (57/64 [89.9%] vs 41/61 [67.2%]; χ2 test, P=0.003]. There was no significant difference between the groups in the number of patients who experienced adverse outcomes (31/64 [48.4%] vs 36/61 [59.0%]; χ2 test, P=0.236). However, higher frequencies of all adverse outcomes were consistently observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: Pharmacotherapeutic education of patients with T2DM can significantly improve 30-day post-discharge medication adherence, without a significant reduction in adverse clinical outcomes. ClinicalTrial.gov identification number: NCT03438162.

Effect of a 36-month pharmaceutical care program on the coronary heart disease risk in elderly diabetic and hypertensive patients.

PURPOSE: To examine the effect of a pharmaceutical care program on the coronary heart disease risk in elderly diabetic and hypertensive patients. METHODS: A total of 200 elderly (> 60 years) diabetic and/or hypertensive patients were recruited into a randomized, controlled, prospective clinical trial with a 36-month follow-up, developed in a public primary health care unit in a municipality in the Brazilian State of Sao Paulo. A range of clinical measurements were evaluated at the baseline and up to 36 months afterwards. The intervention group patients received pharmaceutical care from a clinical pharmacist, whereas the control group patients received their usual care from the medical and nursing staff. The Framingham scoring method was used to estimate changes in the 10-year coronary heart disease risk scores of all the patients. RESULTS: A total of 194 patients completed the study. Significant reductions (p < 0.05) in the mean values (baseline vs. 36 months) for the systolic blood pressure [156.7 mmHg vs 133.7 mmHg; P < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (106.6 mmHg vs. 91.6 mmHg; P < 0.001),fasting glucose (135.1 mg/dL vs. 107.9 mg/dL; P < 0.001), hemoglobin A1C (7.7% vs. 7.0%; P <0.001), triglycerides (206.0 mg/dL vs. 152.5 mg/dL; P < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)cholesterol (112.4 mg/dL vs. 102.0 mg/dL; P < 0.001), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (55.5 mg/dL vs. 65.5 mg/dL; P < 0.001), total cholesterol (202.5 mg/dL vs. 185.9 mg/dL; P < 0.001), body mass index (26.2 kg/m2 vs. 26.1 kg/m2; P < 0.001), and abdominal circumference (103.2 cm vs. 102.5 cm; P= 0.001) were observed in the intervention group, whereas no significant changes were verified in the control group. The mean Framingham risk prediction score in the intervention group was 6.8% at baseline and decreased to 4.5%; P < 0.001) after 36 months, but remained unchanged in the control group. CONCLUSION: The pharmaceutical care program resulted in better clinical measurements and reduced the cardiovascular risk scores in elderly diabetic and hypertensive patients over a 36-month period.