Abstract

Udayalakshmi K.*, Hema Latha A., Bhavya V., Laksmi P., Ranganayakulu D.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Clinically significant drug-drug interactions reduce effectiveness of drugs or cause fatal adverse events. Although harmful drug interactions are preventable, clinicians’ recognition and detection of drug interactions is not optimal. Objective: To assess prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions at medical ward of tertiary care teaching Hospital. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted to determine potential drug-drug interactions. A total of 200 patients’ medical records were analyzed for drug-drug interaction using Micromedex drug interaction software. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: We identified 169 interacting-combinations in a total of 200 potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs). Of these, 46.7% and 53.3% of patients had major and moderate pDDIs respectively. The most common pDDIs involved were concurrent use of Aspirin with Digoxin, aspirin with furosemide and furosemide. The second most common interaction was among Amlodipine and Clopidogrel which have major and moderate severity respectively. There was significant association of occurrence of pDDIs with polypharmacy. Conclusion: Potential drug-drug interactions were common at the medical ward of our hospital.