Perfil e manejo de interações medicamentosas potenciais teóricas em prescrições de UTI

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence of Theoretical Potential Drug Interactions (TPDI) in prescriptions made at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a Public Hospital (Hospital de Clinicas - UNICAMP), and also quantify and classify them based on level of severity, thus providing a profile of the prescriptions of this sector. Methods: Between the months of January to June of 2011, a total of 195 prescriptions to patients aged 18 years or older who had been hospitalized for more than 24 hours in adult Intensive Care Unit were evaluated. Results: During the study period, 172 different types of medications were prescribed, with an average of 12.9 ± 4.3 by prescription. Among the prescriptions evaluated, 88.2% had theoretical potential drug interactions that resulted in an average of 4.7± 4.9 by prescription. The 915 TPDI observed in that prescriptions were classified as contraindicated (20), major (257), moderate (516) and minor (122), using information from the database MICROMEDEX ®. These TPDI were reported to the medical team according to their severity and the need for clinical management. Conclusion: This research collaborates to the delimitation of the pharmacotherapy procedures used in intensive care, demonstrating that there is a high incidence of Theoretical Potential Drug Interactions in them. It also highlights the Clinical Pharmacist’s contribution in this area, helping the multidisciplinary team to reduce the risks in drug therapy.