Management and prevention of problems related to oncology drugs are particularly important due to the excessive cost, high toxicity, and narrow therapeutic index of the antineoplastic drugs, in addition to the patients' state of health. Therefore, the presence of the pharmacist as a member of the multidisciplinary team is essential to contribute to patient safety. In this work, the interventions performed were identified, quantified, and classified to characterize the work of the clinical oncology pharmacist. This is a prospective and quantitative study, conducted over a period of six months in the outpatient oncology and chemotherapy clinic of the University Hospital of the University of Campinas, Brazil. A total of 3526 medical prescriptions were evaluated for the 780 patients seen and, among these prescriptions, 220 (6.24%) contained errors, representing 6.24% of the total number. The most common error was dose-related with 79 (22.83%) cases of overdosing. Wrong-patient medication error was the least reported (0.29%). Thirty drugs were involved in the pharmaceutical interventions, Carboplatin and Ondansetron being the most frequent. Thirteen types of potential errors were evaluated according to the method proposed by Cardinal and Fernandes. Two (15.38%) included interventions of indication, contraindication, and therapeutic efficacy of a drug. Five of them (38.46%) are related to the treatment regimen, and two (15.38%) were related to prevention of potential adverse events. Four interventions (30.77%) concerned technical interventions in injectable drugs such as dilution, compatibility, and administration time. Of the 346 interventions performed, 1 (0.29%) was classified as potentially lethal, 114 as serious (32.95%), 140 as significant (40.46%), and 91 as minor (26.30%).

The metabolic effects of carbohydrate supplementation in mice have not been extensively studied. In rats, glucose-and fructose-rich diets induce hypertriacylglycerolemia. In the present study, we compared the metabolic responses to two monosaccharide supplementations in two murine models. Adult male Wistar rats (N = 80) and C57BL/6 mice (N = 60), after 3 weeks on a standardized diet, were submitted to dietary supplementation by gavage with glucose

Introduction Capecitabine is an oral anticancer drug which can cause some adverse reactions and the great challenge for its use is to ensure the medication adherence. The aim of this study was to analyze adverse reactions and adherence to capecitabine in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Methods A prospective study was performed in a tertiary teaching hospital in Brazil. Outpatients undergoing capecitabine treatment for colorectal or gastric cancer were followed for three cycles of treatment. Patient demographic and clinical characteristics data were collected. Adverse reactions were analyzed using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v.4. Adherence to capecitabine were evaluated using Morisky-Green and MedTake tests. Statistical analysis was conducted using Chi‐square, Fisher's exact and McNemer tests. Results One hundred and four patients were enrolled in this study, with a mean age was 58.5 ± 10.9 years; 51.0% were men and 51.0% Caucasian. Nausea and diarrhea were the most frequently reported adverse reactions (82.7% and 62.5%, respectively), followed by vomiting (54.8%), fatigue (54.8%), and hand-foot syndrome (53.9%). Nausea and diarrhea were also the most severe adverse reactions. Most patients were adherent to capecitabine in all cycles of treatment using the Morisky-Green test. Adherence increased significantly between cycle 1 and cycle 2 by MedTake test (p < 0.001). Some demographic and clinical characteristics were associated with adverse reactions (e.g., age and nausea, gender and nausea and vomiting) and capecitabine adherence (e.g., marital status and educational level) as well as some adverse reactions were associated with capecitabine adherence (hand-foot syndrome and nausea). Conclusions Clinical oncology pharmacists must provide patient information on the correct use of capecitabine, manage adverse reactions, and monitor adherence to treatment. Strategies to prevent non-adherence to capecitabine must be adopted to ensure the success of pharmacotherapy.

The high toxicity and narrow therapeutic window of antineoplastic agents makes pharmacovigilance studies essential in oncology. The objectives of the current study were to analyze the pattern of spontaneous notifications of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in oncology patients and to analyze the incidence of ADRs reported by outpatients on antineoplastic treatment in a tertiary care teaching hospital. To compose the pattern of ADR, the notification forms of reactions in oncology patients in 2010 were reviewed, and the reactions were classified based on the drug involved, mechanism, causality, and severity. To evaluate the incidence of reactions, a questionnaire at the time of chemotherapy was included, and the severity was classified based on the Common Terminology Criteria. The profiles of the 10 responses reported to the Pharmacovigilance Sector were type B, severe, possible, and they were primarily related to platinum compounds and taxanes. When the incidence of reactions was analyzed, it was observed that nausea, alopecia, fatigue, diarrhea, and taste disturbance were the most frequently reported reactions by oncology patients, and the grade 3 and 4 reactions were not reported. Based on this analysis, it is proposed that health professionals should be trained regarding notifications and clinical pharmacists should increasingly be brought on board to reduce under-reporting of ADRs.Uniterms: Pharmacovigilance. Oncovigilance. Drugs/adverse reactions. Adverse drug reactions/underreporting. Adverse drug reactions/Spontaneous notification. Clinical pharmacy.Estudos de farmacovigilância são imprescindíveis em oncologia, pois os antineoplásicos possuem alta toxicidade e estreita janela terapêutica. Os objetivos deste estudo foram analisar o perfil das notificações espontâneas de reações adversas a medicamentos (RAM) em pacientes oncológicos e a incidência de RAM ao tratamento antineoplásico em um hospital terciário e universitário. Para compor o perfil de RAM, revisaram-se os formulários de notificação de reações em pacientes oncológicos do ano de 2010 e classificaram-se as reações conforme o medicamento envolvido, mecanismo, causalidade e gravidade. Para avaliar a incidência de reações, aplicou-se um questionário no momento da quimioterapia e a gravidade foi classificada pelos Critérios Comuns de Toxicidade. Apenas 10 reações foram notificadas ao Setor de Farmacovigilância, cujo perfil encontrado foi tipo B, grave, possível, e foram principalmente relacionadas aos compostos de platina e taxanos. Na análise da incidência das reações, observou-se que náusea, alopecia, fadiga, diarreia e distúrbio do paladar foram as reações mais frequentes relatadas por pacientes oncológicos, e as reações grau 3 e 4 não foram notificadas. De acordo com essas análises, propõe-se que os profissionais da saúde sejam treinados quanto às notificações e que farmacêuticos clínicos sejam cada vez mais inseridos neste contexto para redução da subnotificação de RAM.Unitermos: Farmacovigilância. Oncovigilância. Medicamentos/reações adversas. Anti...