Drug therapeutic failures as a cause of admission to an intensive care unit at a university hospital
Objective: Drug therapeutic failures (TFs) are included in pharmacovigilance reporting, as some authors consider them a type of adverse drug reaction. Given their high frequency in Colombia, we studied their importance as a cause of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: This was a cros...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.jrpp.net/article.asp?issn=2319-9644;year=2019;volume=8;issue=3;spage=168;epage=172;aulast=Ruiz-Garzon |
| Summary: | Objective: Drug therapeutic failures (TFs) are included in pharmacovigilance reporting, as some authors consider them a type of adverse drug reaction. Given their high frequency in Colombia, we studied their importance as a cause of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. Clinical records of patients who arrived at the emergency service of a third-care level university hospital were reviewed. Information was collected by a resident in clinical toxicology, and each case was validated and analyzed by a research team using the algorithm proposed by Vaca González and Schumock and Thornton criteria for preventability to evaluate the existence of possible medication errors. Findings: In total, 697 clinical records were evaluated and 18 patients presented TFs (2.6%, 95% confidence interval 1.5%–4.1%) as the cause of admission to the ICU. The most frequent TFs were seizures (56%) and hypertension (28%). The most commonly associated medications were valproic acid (28%) and losartan (28%). Ten cases (56%) were associated with drug misuse and the same number of cases was preventable, according to Schumock and Thornton criteria. Conclusion: This is the first study assessing TFs as a cause of admission to the ICU in the Colombian population. The frequency of TFs in our study was similar to that described in the literature; being the most common cause the inappropriate drug use, particularly for drugs with complex kinetics, such as antiepileptic drugs. |
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| ISSN: | 2319-9644 2279-042X |