Evaluation of Potential Drug Interactions and Related Factors in Patients Admitted in Department of Cardiology of Farshchian Heart Hospital of Hamadan

Abstract

Background and Objective: Cardiovascular patients are susceptible to drug interactions due to the simultaneous use of several drug types. The purpose of this descriptive-analytic study was to evaluate the potential drug interactions and the related factors in subjects admitted to the Cardiology Department of Farshchian heart hospital of Hamadan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 900 subjects. The data, including drugs, sex, type of illness, and length of hospitalization were extracted from files of the patients referred to Farshchian hospital in 2014 and 2015. Drug interactions were evaluated by the Micromedex 1630. The results were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16). Results: Of the 900 cases, 424 (47.1%) were male and 476 (52.9%) were female. A total of 4318 cases of interference were detected, 1610 (37.3%) of which were strongly interfered and 2708 (62.7%) were moderately interfered. The mean ages of males and females were 61.00 and 60.50 years, respectively (P=0.602). It was reported that 815 (90.6%) cases had at least one interaction. Based on the results, 389 male patients (91.3%) and 426 (90.6%) female patients had a drug interaction (P= 0.258). The differences of mean age, number of drugs, and length of hospitalization were statistically significant between the groups with and without interactions (P=0.001). The highest frequency of drug-drug interaction was detected with moderate severity in atrovastatin and clopidogrel with 464 repetition times. Furthermore, aspirin and clopidogrel with major severity and 485 repetitions were reported the most interfering drugs. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the amount of drug intake, length of hospitalization, and sex affect the incidence of drug interactions.

Assessment of frequency and types of drug interactions in intensive care units: a cross-sectional study

“…In the present study, drug interactions in none of the hospitals were significantly different between women and men and were almost the same between women and men. According to Turkashund et al 15 study, the prevalence of interference was higher in women than in men. Some studies show no difference between the two sexes 20 .…”

“…In Turkashund et al 15 study, out of 4318 interference cases, 2708 (62.7%) were related to moderate interferences and 1610 (37.3%) of those were severe interferences of replacement therapy. In the studies conducted in Pakistan 16 and India 13 also reported the most cases of drug interaction intensity at a medium level.…”