The potential role of clinical pharmacist in the practice of heart transplantation
International Pharmacy Acta,
Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022),
19 June 2022
,
Page e6: 1-7
https://doi.org/10.22037/ipa.v5i1.37635
Abstract
Due to the complexity of heart transplant procedure and risk of organ rejection, most heart transplant patients receive multiple medications such as antibiotics, antifungals, and immunosuppressants. Since some medications have narrow therapeutic indexes, more attention is needed by the clinical pharmacists to solve and reduce medication-related problems. Pharmacists can play an essential role in assisting patients and physicians in receiving better treatment with the lowest risk of medication errors.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the types and quality of clinical pharmacist recommendations, the recommendations acceptance rate, and the outcomes related to clinical pharmacist interventions in heart transplant patients. The study was conducted at National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD), Dr.Masih Daneshvari Hospital, a university affiliated hospital, Tehran, Iran. Main outcome measures included determination of the quality of clinical pharmacist recommendations, physician acceptance rate and the effects of recommendations on patients’ clinical outcomes. Clinical pharmacist recommendations were divided into ten categories, and physicians’ acceptance rate for each recommendation was recorded. The quality of pharmacist recommendations was also classified into six categories.
The total number of recommendations that were recorded for 46 patients was 344, about 7.47 recommendations per patient. Dose adjustment recommendations were the most recommendations that were made (n=100, 29.06 %). However, this type of recommendation had the lowest physician acceptance rate (62%). Antibiotics had the least acceptance rate in dose adjustment recommendations (40%). Clinical pharmacist recommendations in the drug interaction category prevented 265 moderate and 28 severe interactions, respectively. Clinical pharmacist made 27 (7.84%) extreme significant recommendations and 88 (25.58%) significant recommendations.
Clinical pharmacists could have a critical role in optimizing medication regimens and minimizing drug interactions as well as adverse reactions in transplant patient care and their treatment programs.
- Pharmacists
- Heart Transplantation
- Patient Care
- Drug-Related Problems
How to Cite
References
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