This study suggests that a pharmaceutical care program may provide important contributions to reduce haemoglobin A1C in type 2 diabetes patients. Moreover, the promotion of the rational use of drugs may be better achieved in a context of pharmaceutical care programs in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES:To investigate the prevalence of potential drug interactions at the intensive care unit of a university hospital in Brazil and to analyze their clinical significance.METHODS:This cross‐sectional retrospective study included 299 patients who had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the hospital. The drugs administered during the first 24 hours of hospitalization, in the 50th length‐of‐stay percentile and at the time of discharge were analyzed to identify potential drug‐drug and drug‐enteral nutrition interactions using DRUG‐REAX® software. The drugs were classified according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification.RESULTS:The median number of medications per patient was smaller at the time of discharge than in the 50th length‐of‐stay percentile and in the first 24 hours of hospitalization. There was a 70% prevalence of potential drug interactions at the intensive care unit at the studied time points of hospitalization. Most of the drug interactions were either severe or moderate, and the scientific evidence for the interactions was, in general, either good or excellent. Pharmacodynamic interactions presented a subtle predominance in relation to pharmacokinetic interactions. The occurrence of potential drug interactions was associated with the number of medications administered and the length of stay. Medications that induced cytochrome P450, drugs that prolong the QT interval and cardiovascular drugs were pharmacotherapy factors associated with potential drug interactions.CONCLUSION:The study showed that potential drug interactions were prevalent in the intensive care unit due to the complexity of the pharmacotherapies administered. The interactions were associated with the number of drugs, the length of stay and the characteristics of the administered medications.

Although there was variability regarding the association between complexity and adherence, most studies showed that an increased regimen complexity reduces medication adherence.

Adverse drug reactions of clinical significance were the most frequent ADEs in the ICU studied, which reduces patient safety. The number of ADEs related to drug interactions was small, suggesting that clinical manifestations of drug interactions that harm patients are not frequent in ICUs.

This was a retrospective, descriptive and documental study with the aim of identifying adverse drug events which occurred in the medication administration process and to classify these medication errors. This study was developed in the internal medicine unit of a general hospital of Goiás, Brazil. Report books used by nursing staff from the period 2002 to 2007, were analyzed. A total of 230 medication errors were identified, most of which occurred in the preparation and administration of the medications (64.3%). Medication errors were of omission (50.9%), of dose (16.5%), of schedule (13.5%) and of administration technique (12.2%) and were more frequent with antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents (24.3%) and anti-infective agents (20.9%). It was found that 37.4% of drugs were high alert medications. Considering the medication errors detected it is important to promote a culture of safety in the hospital.