Abstract:
Background: - The quality of pharmacotherapy is highly dependent on the process of
choosing a drug in relation to nature of the disease. Several factors should be considered
in choosing optimal pharmacotherapeutics strategy including efficacy, safety, availability,
and cost of the drugs.
Objective: - To assess potential drug-drug interactions and risk factors in outpatients
taking cardiovascular drugs at Jimma University specialized hospital
Methods: - A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess potential drug–drug
interactions at Jimma University Specialized hospital from Feb. to April, 2011. All
sampled outpatients (332) on cardiovascular medications and visiting the hospital during
the study period were included. MicroMedex software was used to screen drug-drug
interactions and binary logistic regression was made using spss window software
versions-16 to assess the descriptive and association of variables
Results: - A total of 332 patients who were prescribed 1249 drugs (average, 3.76 drugs
per prescription) were enrolled and the frequency of potential DDIs was found to be 241
(72.6%). It was found that 200 (67.3%) of the potential DDIs were of "moderate"
severity, delayed in onset and good in documentation status. Cardiovascular drugs carried
a risk of DDIs (676 drugs, or 77.5%). Patients who prescribed many drugs by medical
intern had a higher risk of developing DDIs. The most common potential DDI observed
was between enalapril and Furosemide (n = 59).
Conclusion: - patients with cardiovascular disorders are subjected to high risk of
potential drug-drug interactions and the number of drugs prescribed and educational level
of the prescribers has a high significantly associated with the occurrence of potential
drug-drug interactions. Therefore, it is imperative that health care professional constantly
alert to recognize this problem and provide appropriate mechanisms for management,
thereby reducing adverse outcomes.
