ABSTRACT
Data on the clinical characteristics, severity and management of COVID-19 from the Middle East region, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is very limited. We studied the clinical characteristics, laboratory biomarkers, risk factors for severity and pharmacotherapy of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in this single-center, analytical cross-sectional study conducted in a secondary care hospital of the UAE. A total of 585 patients were included in the study (median age, 49 years (IQR, 39-59); 66% male). Age > 45 years (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.04-4.14, p = 0.040), male gender (OR = 3.15, 95% CI: 1.52-6.51, p = 0.002), presentation symptoms such as fever (OR = 3.68, 95% CI:1.34-10.11, p = 0.011) and shortness of breath/dyspnea (OR = 5.36, 95% CI: 2.69-10.67, p < 0.001), Hb < 13 g/dL (OR = 3.17, 95% CI: 1.51-6.65, p = 0.002), neutrophils > 7 × 103/mcL (OR = 4.89, 95% CI: 1.66-14.37, p=0.004), lymphocytes < 1 × 103/mcL (OR = 7.78, 95% CI: 1.01-60.19, p = 0.049), sodium < 135 mmol/L (OR = 5.42, 95% CI: 1.05-27.95, p = 0.044), potassium < 3.6 mmol/L (OR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.03-11.01, p = 0.045), urea > 6.5 mmol/L (OR = 3.37, 95% CI: 1.69-6.73, p = 0.001) and LDH > 227 IU/L (OR = 6.26, 95% CI: 1.61-24.32, p = 0.008) were independent predictors of the severity of COVID-19. Antivirals (524, 89.6%) and corticosteroids (358, 61.2%) were prescribed for the management of COVID-19. In conclusion, older age, male gender, presentation symptoms such as fever and dyspnea, low hemoglobin, neutrophilia, lymphopenia, hyponatremia, hypokalemia, elevated levels of urea and lactate dehydrogenase were found to be independent risk factors for severe COVID-19. The pharmacotherapy of COVID-19 patients in our study was diverse, and the medications were prescribed based on the clinical condition of the patients.
ABSTRACT
Objectives Pharmacists have proven to be an indispensable member of the frontline healthcare team during this COVID-19 pandemic and have performed key roles and responsibilities to mitigate its adverse impact. They are facing several unusual challenges in these changing and evolving circumstances and are adopting novel strategies to overcome them. This review aims to identify and describe the different pharmaceutical care services delivered by pharmacists during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A review of different studies was conducted to appraise the existing literature regarding various pharmaceutical care services carried out by the pharmacist during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review was done using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and metaanalyses (PRISMA). A comprehensive literature search was done using different databases such as MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase and ProQuest to identify the relevant studies. Key findings The review highlights the various pharmaceutical care services provided and implemented by pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmaceutical care services like patient education and counselling, providing information, addressing medication shortages, teleconsultation, medication review, optimizing medication regimen, adverse drug reaction monitoring and addressing the medication-related problems are being delivered by the pharmacists in this ongoing pandemic. Conclusions All the studies described the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacists during COVID-19. This pandemic adversity has opened up new avenues for the pharmacists which have broadened their scope as the member of multidisciplinary healthcare team. Pharmacists have to overcome the unforeseen barriers and challenges and continue providing need-based pharmaceutical care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)