A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON DRUG - DRUG INTERACTIONS IN THE MEDICATION CHARTS IN GENERAL MEDICINE WARDS, IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH AND THE CLINICAL PHARMACIST ROLE
A drug-drug interaction is a situation in which a drug affects the activity of another drug when both are administered together. This action can be synergistic or antagonistic or a new effect can be produced that neither produces on its own. This prospective study aimed to evaluate drug-drug interactions in the medication charts of the patients. Data of all patients admitted in the in-patient general medicine ward was collected and subjected to drug-drug interaction analysis using drug information resources such as ―clinical pharmacology‖,―micromedex‖, ―medscape drug interaction checker‖, ―lexicomp‖ software, case reports. From among the 900 cases collected, 625 (69.44%) cases were identified with 796 DDI’s. It was observed that out of DDI’s identified, 98 (12.31%) were major, 261 (32.78%) were moderate and 437 (54.89%) were minor in severity. Drug-drug interactions may not appear to cause a serious health problem to the patients and it doesn’t alter the treatment process but clinical investigations should be evaluated at specific intervals during the therapy in order to know the actual consequence of the DDI’s, there by one can prevent the adverse effects due to the DDI’s to the patients .Clinical pharmacist should play a key role in monitoring the medication charts of the patients