Potential drug-drug interactions within Veterans Affairs medical centers.
OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the prevalence of 25 clinically important drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in the ambulatory care clinics of the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers (VAMCs).


METHODS
This study was a retrospective, cross-sectional database analysis of pharmacy records to assess the prevalence of 25 clinically important DDIs. For each DDI, the object drug was defined as the medication that has its therapeutic effect modified by the drug interaction process. The precipitant drug was defined as the medication responsible for affecting the pharmacologic action or the pharmacokinetic properties of the object drug. Rates of interactions for each VAMC facility were calculated as the number of patients with a DDI divided by the total number of individual patients exposed to the object or precipitant medications. The 25 DDIs were categorized into four main categories on the basis of the therapeutic classification of the medications involved in the drug pairs.


RESULTS
The study population included 2,795,345 patients who filled prescriptions for medications involved in potential DDIs across 128 VAMCs. The highest DDI exposure rate was 129.2 per 1,000 recipients of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that occurred with combinations of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The lowest DDI exposure rate was 0.01 per 1,000 warfarin recipients who had the warfarin and sulfinpyrazone combination.


CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of pharmacy records of veterans who filled prescriptions at the outpatient settings within VAMC found an overall rate of 2.15% for potential DDIs. Case-exposure rates were greatest for veterans receiving SSRIs and MAOIs, ganciclovir and zidovudine, anticoagulants and thyroid hormones, and warfarin and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.
Mahmood
Maysaa
M
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona (UA), Tucson, AZ 85721-0202, USA.
Malone
Daniel C
DC
Skrepnek
Grant H
GH
Abarca
Jacob
J
Armstrong
Edward P
EP
Murphy
John E
JE
Grizzle
Amy J
AJ
Ko
Yu
Y
Woosley
Raymond L
RL
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000639:trends; D004347:Drug Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000639:trends; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000378:metabolism; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs / Q000639:trends*
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000925:Anticoagulants; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D013963:Thyroid Hormones