evaluation and management of drug-drug interactions in patients hospitalized in nephrology and post-transplant wards in a teaching hospital

Background: kidney transplant patients usually take a combination of medications after transplantation; hence, medication safety becomes an important issue in order to maintain the new organ working properly. to evaluate the incidence and risk factors associated with potential drug-drug interactions (pddis) in hospitalized patients in nephrology and post-transplant wards to improve clinical management of pddis by a clinical pharmacist. methods: in this cross-sectional study, patients in nephrology and post-transplant wards were screened for pddis, using the interaction screening program lexi-comp resource®. after evaluating the detected pddis for clinical relevance, the intervention was performed through physicians or nurses for type d and x drug interactions. intervention feedback, implemented recommendations, and any probable adverse drug reactions were documented. results: during the study, 399 patients (239 in nephrology and 160 in post-transplant wards) plus 6105 drug orders were evaluated, and a total of 3263 ddis were identified; of them, 827 (23.5%) were determined to be d and x classifications, and a total of 89.97% of all hospitalized cases had at least 1 pddis. factors that had the greatest influence on pddi incidence included the number of drugs and the admitted wards. patients in the post-transplant ward experienced 2.3 times more ddis than those in the nephrology ward. in total, 78% of class x and d ddis required intervention, of which 75% were accepted and implemented by the physicians and nurses. conclusion: clinically relevant pddis are common in patients in nephrology and post-transplant wards, and pharmacists play a critical role in detecting and managing this medical problem in hospitalized patients.