Drug therapy problems identified among patients receiving antiretroviral treatment in a HIV clinic: a prospective study in North Central, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: despite improved life expectancy for people living with HIV (PLWH), aging, comorbidities, and associated drug treatment increase the risk for drug therapy problems (DTPs). We assessed pharmacists´ identification and resolution of DTPs among PLWH. METHODS: a prospective study was conducted among PLWH aged ≥10 years (N=100) in a Nigerian HIV clinic. Trained pharmacists delivered a six-step intervention that included the establishment of patient-provider relationship, gathering and validation of patient´s data, identification of DTPs, intervention, outcome identification, and documentation. Descriptive statistics were used to examine data collected via a pharmaceutical care assessment tool. RESULTS: in all, 215 DTPs were identified and classified as unnecessary drug therapy [27.4% (n=59)], non-adherence [21.9% (n=47)], needs additional drug therapy [16.7% (n=36)], adverse drug reaction [(14.0% (n=30)], wrong drug [(10.7% (n=23)], and dosage variation [n=20 (9.3%)]. Within each DTP class, the most common cause was addiction/recreational drug use [39.0% (n=23)], drug product not available [63.8% (n=30)], untreated condition(s) [61.1% (n=22)], undesirable effects [66.7% (n=20)], condition refractory to drug [34.8% (n=8)], and drug interaction [45.0% (n=9)], respectively. The most common interventions were medication information/recommendation to patients/prescribers (30.4%) and initiation of drug therapy (22.2%). Six-month resolution rate was 90% (n=194) with the most common outcomes being improvement in patient adherence [23.6% (n=50)], addition of a drug [18.9% (n=40)], and reduction in drug overuse [15.6% (n=33)]. CONCLUSION: pharmacists´ intervention resulted in 90% resolution of detected DTPs, implying that pharmacists are crucial in improving antiretroviral treatment outcomes.

Management of acute diarrhea in children by community pharmacists in Lagos, Nigeria / Manejo de la diarrea aguda en niños por las farmacias comunitarias de Lagos, Nigeria

Background: Acute diarrhea in children leads to dehydration and death if not appropriately managed. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends treating diarrhea with oral rehydration therapy (ORT), fluids and foods. Proper management is hinged on accurate assessment of patients to identify the acute watery diarrhea. Objective: To compare the knowledge and attitude of community pharmacists in the management of acute diarrhea in children with their observed practice. Methods: This study was carried out using two instruments: structured self-administered questionnaire to assess knowledge and attitude of community pharmacists in the management of acute diarrhea in children and simulated patient visits to evaluate assessment of patients, recommendation of products and instructions on feeding and fluid intake. The simulated patient visits were done in 186 pharmacies in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Results: The study reveals that the knowledge and attitude of community pharmacists in the management of acute diarrhea in children was different from their observed practice. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). During the simulations, 23% carried out appropriate assessment before recommending any products, and 15% recommended ORT alone. Although information to the pharmacists indicated non-dysentery, non-cholera, acute watery diarrhea, antibiotics and antidiarrheals were irrationally recommended and these were the mainstay of symptoms’ management in practice. Questionnaire data revealed that 24% of pharmacists knew the correct instructions to give on food and fluid intake during diarrhea, whereas 8% followed WHO guideline on food and fluid intake during the visits. Conclusions: Assessment of patients to determine acute diarrhea was inadequate. Observed practice in managing acute diarrhea in children was inappropriate and significantly different from their claims in the questionnaire. The recommendation of ORT was scanty and advice on food and fluid intake was inadequate and sometimes inappropriate. This study shows that only 15% of community pharmacists managed acute diarrhea in children according to the WHO guidelines (AU)

Antecedentes: La diarrea aguda en niños lleva a la deshidratación y a la muerte si no se maneja adecuadamente. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (WHO) recomienda tratar la diarrea con terapia de rehidratación oral (ORT), fluidos y alimentos. El manejo adecuado de la diarrea esta articulado sobre una evaluación adecuada de los pacientes para identificar la diarrea aguda acuosa. Objetivo: Comparar el conocimiento y la actitud de los farmacéuticos comunitarios con la practica observada en el manejo de la diarrea aguda en niños. Métodos: Este estudio fue realizado utilizando dos instrumentos: cuestionario estructurado autoadministrado para evaluar el conocimiento y las actitudes de los farmacéuticos comunitarios en el manejo de la diarrea aguda en niños; y visitas de pacientes simulados para evaluar la evaluación de los pacientes, la recomendación de productos y las instrucciones de ingesta de alimentos y fluidos. Se realizaron las visitas de pacientes simulados en 186 farmacias de la ciudad deLagos, Nigeria. Resultados: El estudio revela que el conocimiento y la actitud de los farmacéuticos comunitarios en el manejo de diarrea aguda en niños fue diferente de la práctica observada. La diferencia fue estadísticamente significativa (p<0,05). Durante las simulaciones, el 23%realizaba evaluaciones correctas antes de recomendar algún producto, y el 15% recomendaba ORT solo. Aunque la información de los farmacéuticos indicaba una diarrea acuosa no disentérica y no colérica, se recomendaron irracionalmente antibióticos y antidiarreicos, siendo estos dos los pilares del manejo de los síntomas en la práctica. Los datos de los cuestionarios revelaron que el 24% de los farmacéuticos conocía correctamente las instrucciones que debía dar sobreingesta de fluidos y alimentos durante la diarrea, cuando solo el 8% siguió las recomendaciones de la WHO sobreingesta de fluidos y alimentos durante las visitas. Conclusiones: La evaluación de los pacientes para identificar la diarrea aguda fue inadecuada. La práctica observada en el manejo de la diarrea aguda en niños fue inadecuada y difirió significativamente de las respuestas en los cuestionarios. La recomendación de ORT fue escasa y el asesoramiento sobre ingesta de fluidos y alimentos fue inadecuado y en ocasiones inapropiado. Este estudio muestra que solo el 15% de los farmacéuticos comunitarios manejó la diarrea aguda de acuerdo con las recomendaciones de WHO (AU)