Drug-related problems in patients with ischemic stroke in hospital.
BACKGROUND
Drug therapy is getting more complex, thus making it more challenging to prescribe appropriate drug therapy. Accordingly, in clinical practice, a wide range of drug-related problems (DRP) may arise; they are relatively common in hospitalised patients and can result in patient morbidity and mortality, and increased costs.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to investigate the nature and frequency of DRPs along with pharmaceutical interventions to address them in patients with ischemic stroke from hospital admission to discharge.


METHODS
From January to June 2011 patients with ischemic stroke, who were taking >2 drugs during hospital stay and at discharge, were recruited. A clinical pharmacist performed medication reconciliation on admission, and checked the medication records during the hospital stay regularly. DRPs were categorized by APS-Doc. Results In total, DRPs occurred in 105/155 (67.7 %) patients: Overall 271 DRPs were documented, with a mean of 1.8 ± 2.0 DRPs per patient. The DRPs occurred mainly in the categories "drug", "indication", and "dosage".


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, DRPs are relatively common in hospitalised patients and may occur at any part of the prescribing process. The clinical pharmacist can provide a valuable contribution in the multidisciplinary team to an optimized pharmacotherapy in patients with ischemic stroke.
Department of Pharmacy, Klinikum Fulda gAG, Pacelliallee 4, 36043, Fulda, Germany. carina.hohmann@klinikum-fulda.de
Carina
C
Hohmann
Tobias
T
Neumann-Haefelin
Jürgen M
JM
Klotz
Annette
A
Freidank
Roland
R
Radziwill
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004347:Drug Interactions; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059065:Medication Reconciliation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy*