Drug interaction in the emergency service.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the occurrence of potential drug interactions in prescriptions for adult patients admitted to the Emergency Department of Hospital São Paulo.


METHODS
A cross-sectional and descriptive study. Its sample consisted of 200 medical prescriptions. The analysis of drug interactions was performed using the Drugs.com database, where they are classified according to severity of interaction as severe, moderate, mild and without interaction.


RESULTS
The number of drugs in prescriptions ranged from 2 to 19, and the average per prescription was 4.97 drugs. A total of 526 potential drug interactions were identified in 159 prescriptions (79.5%); in that, 109 were severe, 354 moderate, 63 mild interactions, and 41 showed no interaction.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated potential drug interactions in 79.5% of prescriptions examined in the Emergency Department. Drug interactions can occur at any time when using medications and, during this working process, the nursing staff is involved in several steps. Therefore, training the nursing staff for the rational use of drugs can increase safety of care delivered to patients.
Meiry Fernanda Pinto
MF
Okuno
Raíssa Silveira
RS
Cintra
Cássia Regina
CR
Vancini-Campanharo
Ruth Ester Assayag
RE
Batista
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004347:Drug Interactions; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety