Recent research conducted at Dubrava University Hospital in Croatia examined the prevalence of drug-drug interactions in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients upon admission, identifying key contributing factors.
Hospital admission was considered an important time for intervention, highlighting the role of hospital pharmacists in mitigating drug-drug interactions and enhancing medication safety for these patients at a transfer of care.
CVD patients often have complex medication regimens, raising the likelihood of interactions. Polypharmacy, especially in older adults, further increases the risk of adverse drug events. This study aimed to address a gap in understanding the prevalence and risk factors for drug-drug interactions in hospitalised CVD patients.
A total of 151 patients, with an average age of 68, were included in the study. The decision support tool Lexicomp (now known as UpToDate Lexidrug) was used to identify and classify drug-drug interactions on a five-stage severity scale. Researchers also analysed the effects of polypharmacy and comorbidities on these interactions.
This comprehensive approach provided insights into the prevalence and risk factors associated with clinically significant drug-drug interactions in hospitalised CVD patients.
Over 90% of patients had at least one potential clinically significant interaction, with cardiovascular medications involved in 88% of these. Key risk factors included polypharmacy, multimorbidity, renal dysfunction and recent hospitalisation.
‘Our study revealed that DDIs represent an additional challenge for CV medication safety. These findings highlight the urgent need for careful medication review, especially at hospital admission, to prevent potentially harmful DDIs,’ the researchers noted.
The study underscores the need for hospital pharmacists to prioritise the screening of drug-drug interactions in patients with multiple comorbidities and complex medication regimens at admission and throughout a hospital stay.
As the researchers observed, regular involvement of clinical pharmacists and implementation of pharmacists interventions ‘enhances medication safety and also contributes to the quality of provided healthcare.’ They also suggested that one potential strategy is for pharmacists to actively seek opportunities for deprescribing.
Looking ahead, clinicians and researchers aiming to build on this study should explore its impact on patient outcomes in practice, an aspect not evaluated in this work, the researchers concluded.
Reference
Marović I, et al. Prevalence and factors associated with potential clinically significant drug-drug interactions in patients with cardiovascular diseases at hospital admission. Acta Pharm. 2025 Jan 9;74(4):693-708. doi: 10.2478/acph-2024-0038.
