Camilo Molino Guidoni

The Pharmaceutical care of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective To evaluate the efficiency of pharmaceutical care on the control of clinical parameters, such as fasting glycaemia and glycosylated haemoglobin in patients with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. Setting This study was conducted at the Training and Community Health Centre of the College of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods A prospective and experimental study was conducted with 71 participants divided in two groups: (i) pharmaceutical care group (n=40), and (ii) the control group (n=31). The distribution of patients within these groups was made casually, and the patients were monitored for 12 months. Main outcome measure: Values for fasting glycaemia and glycosylated haemoglobin were collected. Results Mean values of fasting glycaemia in the pharmaceutical care group were significantly reduced whilst a small reduction was detected in the control group at the same time. A significant reduction in the levels of glycosylated haemoglobin was detected in patients in the pharmaceutical care group, and an average increase was observed in the control group. Furthermore, the follow-up of the intervention group by a pharmacist contributed to the resolution of 62.7% of 142 drug therapy problems identified. Conclusion In Brazil, the information provided by a pharmacist to patients with Type 2 Diabetes mellitus increases compliance to treatment, solving or reducing the Drug Therapy Problem and, consequently, improving glycaemic control.

Incidence and Predictors of Adverse Drug Reactions Caused by Drug-Drug Interactions in Elderly Outpatients: A Prospective Cohort Study

PURPOSE The primary objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) related to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in elderly outpatients who attended public primary healthcare units in a southeastern region of Brazil. The secondary objective was to investigate the possible predictors of DDI-related ADRs. METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted between November 1, 2010, and November 31, 2011, in the primary public healthcare system in the Ourinhos micro-region in Brazil. Patients who were at least 60 years old, with at least one potential DDI, were eligible for inclusion in the study. Eligible patients were assessed by clinical pharmacists for DDI-related ADRs for 4 months. The causality of DDI-related ADRs was assessed independently by four clinicians using three decisional algorithms. The incidence of DDI-related ADRs during the study period was calculated. Logistic regression analysis was used to study DDI-related ADR predictors. RESULTS A total of 433 patients completed the study. The incidence of DDI-related ADRs was 6.5%. A multivariate analysis indicated that the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) rose from 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75-1.12, p = 0.06) in patients aged 65-69 years to 4.40 (95% CI = 3.00-6.12, p < 0.01) in patients aged 80 years or older. Patients who presented two to three diagnosed diseases presented lower adjusted ORs (OR = 0.93 [95% CI = 0.68-1.18, p = 0.08]) than patients who presented six or more diseases (OR = 1.12 [95% CI = 1.02-2.01, p < 0.01]). Elderly patients who took five or more drugs had a significantly higher risk of DDI-related ADRs (OR = 2.72 [95% CI = 1.92-3.12, p < 0.01]) than patients who took three to four drugs (OR = 0.93 [95% CI = 0.74-1.11, p = 0.06]). No significant difference was found with regard to sex (OR = 1.08 [95% CI 0.48-2.02, p = 0.44]). CONCLUSION The incidence of DDI-related ADRs in elderly outpatients was significant, and most of the events presented important clinical consequences. Because clinicians still have difficulty managing this problem, highlighting the factors that increase the risk of DDI-related ADRs is essential. Polypharmacy was found to be a significant predictor of DDI-related ADRs in our sample.

Economic evaluation of outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus assisted by a pharmaceutical care service

OBJECTIVE To analyze the costs related to visits and drug prescription in outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus assisted by a pharmaceutical care service. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A prospective and experimental study was carried out. Seventy one patients were divided into two groups: control and pharmaceutical care. Patients in the pharmaceutical care group were followed up monthly by a single clinical pharmacist. RESULTS The pharmaceutical care group had a statistically significant reduction in costs of metformin and emergency department visits, and increased costs with their family physicians. On the other hand, the control group had a statistically significant increase of 21.3% in the general costs of treatment and visits. CONCLUSION The pharmaceutical care group maintained the same costs related to drugs and visits, while the control group showed a significant increase in general costs.

Assistência ao diabetes no Sistema Único de Saúde: análise do modelo atual

The Brazilian Health Care System stimulated for restrictive economic contexts had passed for reorganization in the decade of 1990, directed mainly to the primary attention. Although the reforms, the incidence of diabetes mellitus still reaches epidemic levels. The diabetes prevention has become actual preoccupation due the high morbimortality that accompanies this disease, becoming necessary the development of efficient and viable programs for Brazilian Public Health system such as emphasis in the primary prevention, control of the diseases incidence and complications. To obtain this goal, the current model of attention given to the patient must be modified, prioritizing the primary attention and a replacement of the hegemonic medical model for another one, formed by an interdisciplinary team, where the pharmacist as a member could offer his/her services should occur, thus minimizing social, humanistic and economic impacts that the diabetes causes for the society. The aim of this present revision is to approach the diabetes mellitus, the difficulties for its control associated with the adopted ineffective system, mainly in the Brazilian Public Health System.

Prescription patterns for diabetes mellitus and therapeutic implications: a population-based analysis

OBJECTIVE To analyze drug prescriptions for insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs in type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients seen in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System (Unified Health System - SUS) in Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil. SUBJECTS AND METHODS All the patients with diabetes seen in the SUS in the western district of Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil between March/2006 and February/2007 were included in the study. RESULTS A total of 3,982 patients were identified. Mean age of the patients was 60.6 years, and 61.0% were females. Sixty percent of the patients were treated with monotherapy. Doses of oral antidiabetic drugs were lower in monotherapy than in polytherapy. Ten patients received doses of glibenclamide or metformin above the recommended maximum doses, and in elderly patients there was no reduction in drug doses. CONCLUSION Monotherapy with oral antidiabetic drugs was the predominant procedure, and the doses were not individualized according to age.

Use of simulated patients to evaluate combined oral contraceptive dispensing practices of community pharmacists.

Background Combined oral contraceptive (COC) use is the most commonly used reversible method of birth control. The incorrect use of COCs is frequent and one of the most common causes of unintended pregnancies. Community pharmacists (CPs) are in a strategic position to improve COC use because they are the last health professional to interact with patients before drug use. Objective To evaluate the COC dispensing practices of CPs in a developing country. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted in community pharmacies of Assis and Ourinhos microregions, Brazil, between June 1, 2012, and October 30, 2012. Four simulated patients (SPs) (with counseled audio recording) visited community pharmacies with a prescription for Ciclo 21® (a COC containing ethinyl estradiol 30 mcg + levonorgestrel 15 mcg). The audio recording of every SP visit was listened to independently by 3 researchers to evaluate the COC dispensing practice. The percentage of CPs who performed a screening for safe use of COCs (i.e., taking of patients’ medical and family history, and measuring of blood pressure) and provided counseling, as well as the quality of the screening and counseling, were evaluated. Results Of the 185 CPs contacted, 41 (22.2%) agreed to participate in the study and finished the study protocol. Only 3 CPs asked the SP a question (1 question asked by each professional), and all of the questions were closed-ended, viz., “do you smoke?” (n = 2) and “what is your age?” (n = 1). None of the CPs measured the patient’s blood pressure. Six CPs provided counseling when dispensing COCs (drug dosing, 5 CPs; possible adverse effects, 2 CPs), and one CP provided counseling regarding both aspects. Conclusion The CPs evaluated did not dispense COC appropriately and could influence in the occurrence of negatives therapeutic outcomes such as adverse effects and treatment failure.

A farmacoepidemiologia no brasil: estado da arte da produção científica

RESUMO : Introducao . Os estudos farmacoepidemiologicos fornecem informacoes essenciais para a gestao e utilizacao dos medicamentos. Objetivo . Estimar quantitativamente os artigos sobre Farmacoepidemiologia publicados mundialmente e analisar o perfil e a evolucao dos estudos farmacoepidemiologicos no Brasil. Casuistica e Metodos . Foi realizado uma busca atraves do cruzamento do descritor “Pharmacoepidemiology” e pais de interesse dos artigos indexados no PubMed/MedLine. Para busca de artigos brasileiros no SciELO utilizou-se o descritor “Farmacoepidemiologia”. A pesquisa em ambas as bases de dados incluiu todos os artigos publicados ate 18/06/2011, excluindo-se os de revisao. Resultados e Discussao . Foram encontrados 620 artigos cientificos indexados no PubMed/MedLine, destacando-se o maior numero de publicacoes nos Estados Unidos (n=146) e no Brasil (n=14) entre os paises desenvolvidos e emergentes selecionados, respectivamente. Com relacao aos estudos brasileiros, foram analisados 48 artigos cientificos disponiveis no PubMed/MedLine e SciELO. As publicacoes brasileiras sobre esta tematica iniciaram no ano de 2001 e nao apresentaram padrao de evolucao nas duas bases de dados analisadas, com concentracao dos artigos nas regioes Sudeste e Sul do pais (n=40). Houve prevalencia da utilizacao de fontes primarias (n=33) para obtencao das informacoes e discrepância na distribuicao dos artigos entre as tres vertentes da Farmacoepidemiologia, com predominio dos Estudos de Utilizacao de Medicamentos (n=39). Conclusao . Apesar do discreto crescimento no numero de artigos sobre Farmacoepidemiologia no Brasil, existe uma discrepância quantitativa quando comparado aos realizados nos paises da Europa e America do Norte. Alem disso, existe a necessidade de se realizar estudos farmacoepidemiologicos de abrangencia nacional e em diferentes grupos populacionais. Palavras-chave: Brasil. Estudos de Utilizacao de Medicamentos. Farmacoepidemiologia. Farmacoeconomia. Farmacovigilância.

A Systematic Review of the Effects of Continuing Education Programs on Providing Clinical Community Pharmacy Services

Objective. To summarize the effects of media methods used in continuing education (CE) programs on providing clinical community pharmacy services and the methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs. Methods. A systematic review was performed using Medline, SciELO, and Scopus databases. The timeline of the search was 1990 to 2013. Searches were conducted in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Results. Nineteen articles of 3990 were included. Fourteen studies used only one media method, and the live method (n=11) was the most frequent (alone or in combination). Only two studies found that the CE program was ineffective or partially effective; these studies used only the live method. Most studies used nonrobust, nonvalidated, and nonstandardized methods to measure effectiveness. The majority of studies focused on the effect of the CE program on modifying the knowledge and skills of the pharmacists. One study assessed the CE program’s benefits to patients or clients. Conclusion. No evidence was obtained regarding which media methods are the most effective. Robust and validated methods, as well as assessment standardization, are required to clearly determine whether a particular media method is effective.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of an Internet-based continuing education program on pharmacy-based minor ailment management: a randomized controlled clinical trial

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of an internet-based continuing education (CE) program on pharmacy-based minor ailment schemes (PMASs). A controlled randomized clinical trial was conducted in community pharmacies in Brazil. Community pharmacists (CPs) were enrolled in two groups: intervention (n = 61) and control (n = 60). CPs who were enrolled to the intervention group participated in an Internet-based CE program. CPs in the control group received no educational intervention. We evaluated participant perception, learning outcomes, and practice performance. Learner satisfaction with the CE program was high for every point evaluated (mean ± standard deviation = 4.2 ± 0.4). Posttest learner outcome scores and practice performance in the intervention group after the conclusion of the CE program significantly improved compared with pretest scores (p < 0.001) and were significantly better compared with the control group (p < 0.001). The present Internet-based CE program is a viable educational strategy for improving participant perception, learning outcomes, and practice performance in PMASs.