A clinical evaluation of the Janus Web Application, a software screening tool for drug-drug interactions.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical relevance of the Janus Web Application (JWA) in screening for potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs).


METHODS
One hundred and fifty patients taking two drugs or more were studied. Potential DDIs were identified by the JWA. Interviewing the patient and looking into his/her medical records provided complementing information. A clinical pharmacologist judged which potential DDIs were clinically relevant. Potentially relevant DDIs identified by the JWA were then correlated with clinically relevant DDIs.


RESULTS
A total of 150 significant potential DDIs were found. Sixteen percent (24/150) were judged to be clinically relevant.


CONCLUSIONS
A very small proportion of DDIs was considered clinically relevant in the specific clinical context. To optimise the software's user-friendliness, the following points need to be considered: the possibility of eliminating trivial potential DDIs, individualising drug alerts, and providing written information, accessible via a hyperlink.
Mannheimer
Buster
B
Department of Internal Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, SE-11883, Stockholm, Sweden. buster.mannheimer@sodersjukhuset.se
Ulfvarson
Johanna
J
Eklöf
Sara
S
Bergqvist
Monica
M
von Bahr
Christer
C
D000368:Aged; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D004347:Drug Interactions; D017723:Drug Utilization Review / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012984:Software; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations