Drug related problems identified by clinical pharmacist at the Internal Medicine Ward in Turkey.

Background Drug-related problems (DRPs) interfere with patient optimal therapeutic outcomes and may be associated with higher morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditures. Objective This study aimed to identify DRPs and their causes in a Turkish hospital. Setting Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Teaching and Research Hospital, Internal Medicine Ward, Istanbul, Turkey. Method Cross-sectional study included a total of 100 patients. Patient demographics, medications, and history were evaluated. Data regarding recent medications were analyzed by two clinical pharmacists and an Internal Medicine physician. The DRPs were identified via V7.0 PCNE classification. Lexicomp® was used to assess the drug-drug interactions. UpToDate® recommendations and national guidelines were applied in the assessment of compliance with approved medication procedures. Main outcome measures Number and causes of the potential DRPs. Results At least one potential DRP was seen in 80% of the patients and 163 potential DRPs were identified (average = 1.6 DRPs/patient). The most common causes of DRPs were errors in drug selection (44.78%), dose selection (27.61%) and medication procedures (21.47%). There were significant correlations (p < 0.05) between DRPs and age (r = 0.4), number of drugs used (r = 0.32), duration of hospitalization (r = 0.25), renal impairment (r = - 0.34) and inflammation (r = 0.31). Conclusion The majority of the patients had DRPs. Patients with renal impairment, inflammation, polypharmacy or an extended hospital stay had a much higher chance of developing DRPs.

What are the optimal treatment modalities according to age group in gastric cancer patients?

Cancer in older people has become an increasingly common problem due to the prolonged life expectancy of the general population. Cancer treatment is challenging but it can be more difficult in geriatric population. Aging is associated with progressive reduction of the body's functional capacity and increased prevalence of chronic diseases. As a result, cancer treatment could cause higher prevalence of serious side effects. In the literature there are only sparse studies about treatment modalities in geriatric gastric cancer patients, therefore our aim was to review the literature concerning this topic and reach a sound conclusion.

Clinical efficacy and drug resistance of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor therapy in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranked third in cancer related death and its incidence has been increasing worldwide. In recent decades important therapeutic advances have been developed in treatment of metastatic CRC (mCRC), such as monoclonal antibodies against epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR), which provided additional clinical benefits in mCRC. However, anti-EGFR therapies have limited usage due to approximately 95% of patients with KRAS mutated mCRC do not response to anti-EGFR treatment. Thus, KRAS mutation is predictive of nonresponse to anti-EGFR therapies but it alone is not a sufficient basis to decide who should not be received such therapies because; approximately fifty percent (40%-60%) of CRC patients with wild-type KRAS mutation also have poor response to anti-EGFR based treatment. This fact leads us to suspect that there must be other molecular determinants of response to anti-EGFR therapies which have not been identified yet. Current article summarizes the clinical efficacy of anti-EGFR therapies and also evaluates its resistance mechanisms.