Abstract

Dr. Nuthan Kumar U. S.*, Dr. Deepak P., Dr. Nalini G. K., Dr. M. Prema, Dr. Geeta Rathod,
Dr. Rakshitha B. V. and Dr. Mohith N.

ABSTRACT

Background: Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are a major cause for concern in ICU patients due to multiple co-existing conditions and the wide class of drugs they receive. The objective of our study is to identify potential drug-drug interactions among hospitalized ICU patients and to identify the risk factors associated with these interactions. Methods: After obtaining approval from Institutional Ethics Committee, a prospective observational study was carried out among 150 ICU patients in Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences attached to Sri Chamarajendra district hospital, HASSAN. As ICU Patients requires stay of more than 24 hour duration were enrolled into the study. The prescriptions were analysed for potential DDIs using MEDSCAPE multidrug interaction checker tool. Descriptive statistics, Students’ test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyse the results. Results: The incidence of potential DDIs was 98% with 150 prescriptions having at least one potential DDI. A total of 38 potentially interacting drug pairs were identified among which majority were of significant grade while only 3 were serious. Majority of interactions were pharmacodynamic (76.3%) in nature. Aspirin/clopidogrel (71.1%) and pantoprazole/clopidogrel (69.8%) were the most common interacting pairs. Drugs most commonly involved were Aspirin, Clopidogrel, Heparin, Pantoprazole and Ramipril. The potential associated risk factors for drug to drug interactions are related with age, gender, polypharmacy and co-morbid conditions with prolonged hospital stay. Conclusions: As all ICU patients need continuous monitoring with proper therapeutic plan. Hence by using the online DDI database will improve the drug therapy and avoid potential interactions leading to adverse effects.