potential drug interactions in patients admitted to cardiology wards of a south potential drug interactions in patients admitted to cardiology wards of a south

BackgroundThe potential drug-drug interaction (pDDI) increases as thenumber of concomitant medications increases. Patientswith cardiovascular disorders are at higher risk for drugdruginteractions because of the types and number of drugsthey receive. While drug interactions are reported to becommon, there is no published report of the prevalence ofsuch interactions among Indian cardiac patients. The aim ofthe present study was to identify the pattern of pDDI anddocument any observed interaction. It was also planned toevaluate the demography of patients and correlate it withthe drug-drug interactions.MethodA prospective observational study from Oct 2007 to Apr2008 was carried out in ‘cardiology department’ of ahospital in South India. Those patients who were taking atleast two drugs and had a hospital stay of at least 48 hourswere included in the study. The medications of the patientswere analyzed for possible interactions. Factors associatedwith pDDI were studied. The actual interactions that wereobserved during the hospital stay in the study subjects weredocumented.ResultsA total of 812 patients were included in the study. 388pDDIs were identified among 249 patients. The incidence ofpDDI was 30.67%. The most common potential interactionswere between aspirin & heparin (29.38%), and clopidogrel& heparin (7.21%). Drug classes most commonly involvedwere antiplatelets, anticoagulants and diuretics. Majority ofinteractions were of moderate severity, delayed onset, andpharmacodynamic in nature. Total 68 actual interactionswere observed in the observed cases.ConclusionThe present study identified pDDIs and also documentedinteractions in cardiovascular patients. Factors which hadcorrelation with adverse drug interactions were identified.This study highlights the need for screening prescriptions ofcardiovascular patients for pDDIs and proactive monitoringof patients who have identified risk factors; this helps indetection and prevention of possible adverse druginteractions.