Monitoring of a protocol for the adequacy of the pharmaceutical form of the oral medication to the degree of dysphagia in patients hospitalized in an internal medicine service

INTRODUCTION: The oral route is the most convenient way of administering medication, although it may not be safe. Dysphagia is one of the factors rendering difficult a proper feeding and administration of medication. OBJECTIVES: to improve the administration of oral medication in patients with dysphagia by changing the pharmaceutical formulation of the principles prescribed to tolerable textures. METHODS: Pilot project for the application of a dysphagia protocol that included the patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Unit at Los Montalvos Center for 4 months. After detecting the suspicion of dysphagia, a dysphagia-viscosity test was applied to know the tolerated textures. Then, the pharmaceutical formulations were adapted and the manipulation instructions for the drugs were indicated for their proper administration. RESULTS: 23 out of 627 admitted patients were included, with a mean age of 85 years (σ±7.4). The pathologies implicated in dysphagia were: dementia (65.2%); cerebrovascular disease (30.4%), and Parkinson's disease (4.4%). The best texture for drug intake was a "pudding" in 48.0%. 43 active ingredients were reviewed and 134 interventions were performed: in 41% of the cases, swallowing was made easier by mixing the drug with the food and in 59% water and a thickener were used. 94% of the recommendations were considered to be appropriate. CONCLUSION: the adaptation of the pharmaceutical formulations to the degree of dysphagia impacts on the improvement of healthcare quality by implementing safety in drug prescription and administration processes.