A prospective study on assessment of clinically potential drug-drug interactions in hospital and community pharmacy prescriptions

Drug-drug interaction or simply term drug interactions may be defined as the combining of two or more drugs such that the potency or efficiency of one drug is significantly modified by the presence of another. Potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are concern for patients and providers, as multiple medication use is becoming more common to manage complex diseases. The consequences of DDIs can range from no untoward effects to drug-related morbidity and mortality. The study was prospective conducted for a period of twelve months in Government Headquarters Hospital Ooty (GHQH) and four community pharmacies that were located in Southern India, Tamilnadu. A total number of 1,066 prescriptions were collected from the patients. A copy of prescription was taken from the patients and data collected included age and sex of the patients, their primary diagnoses presence or absence of comorbidities and the list of medications prescribed concurrently. The potential DDIs were determined through IBM Micromedex Database. However, 147 DDIs were followed up for clinically drug interactions which were found not to be significant. Among the total numbers of prescriptions analyzed 402 (38%) prescriptions showed 462 DDIs and 664 (62.2%) total number of prescriptions collected from inpatient department, GHQH showed 147 DDIs. The DDIs were classified based on the mechanism of interactions, severity of interactions, drug causing DDIs and top combination of drugs and which were determined. This study emphasized on understanding about the most prone age group and the common mechanism that can cause drug interactions which will help in the safety and efficacy of prescribed drugs followed by its management. Key words: Drug-Drug interactions, prescriptions, prevalence, severity, management.