Drug-related problems identified by clinical pharmacists in nephrology department of a tertiary hospital in China-a single center study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nThere is a lack of data on drug-related problems (DRPs) occurring in nephrology department in China. The objective of this study was to identify and categorize the types and causes of DRPs and to assess their severity. DRPs were examined by clinical pharmacists and the results of their interventions were rated.\n\n\nMETHODS\nClinical pharmacists reviewed all medication orders for patients and documented clinical pharmacy services within a nine-month study period. The Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) classification (Version 9.00) was used to identify DRPs. Our Primary outcomes measured the number, causes, types, potential hazards of DRPs and the types and success rate of intervention.\n\n\nRESULTS\nAdmission medication reconciliation data of 113 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) were collected and all of the medications were reviewed retrospectively. Exclude 26 patients who did not occurred DRPs, 87 patients (77%) identified 101 DRPs. The average DRP number per patient was 1.16. The most common type of problem was treatment effectiveness P1 (84.16%; 85/101). The most common causes were drug selection C1 (36.00%; 45/125), dose selection C3 (29.60%; 37/125), and patient related C7 (26.40%; 33/125). Clinical pharmacists totally proposed 249 interventions, of which 190 (76.31%) were fully accepted and implemented.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nDRPs are common among CKD patients in the nephrology department. Hence the necessity for pharmaceutical care to be improved to ensure the ongoing safety of patients.