On-ward participation of clinical pharmacists in a Chinese intensive care unit for patients with COVID-19: A retrospective, observational study.
Res Social Adm Pharm
; 17(1): 1853-1858, 2021 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-548161
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The practical experiences of active pharmacists involved in managing critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been rarely reported.OBJECTIVE:
This work aimed to share professional experiences on medication optimization and provide a feasible reference for the pharmaceutical care of critically ill patients with COVID-19.METHODS:
This study was conducted in a COVID-19-designated hospital in China. A group of dedicated clinical pharmacists participated in multidisciplinary rounds to optimize the treatments for critically ill patients with COVID-19. Consensus on medication recommendations was reached by a multidisciplinary team through bi-daily discussion. Related drug, classification, cause, and adjustment content for recommendations were recorded and reviewed.RESULTS:
A total of 111 medication recommendations were supplied for 22 out of 33 (56.7%) critically ill patients from 1 February 2020 to 18 March 2020, and 106 (95.5%) of these were accepted. Among these recommendations, 64 (67.7%), 32 (28.8%), and 15 (13.5%) were related to antibiotics and antifungals, antiviral agents, and other drugs, respectively. Recommendation types significantly differed for different anti-infectives (p < 0.05). For antibiotics and antifungals, treatment effectiveness accounted for 60.9% of recommendation types, with 15 (38.5%) cases related to untreated infections. For antiviral agents, adverse drug events were the most common recommendation types (84.4%), with 20 (74.1%) cases related to liver function dysfunction. Discontinuation of suspected antiviral agents (66.7%) was usually recommended after the occurrence of adverse events that may progress and bring poor outcomes.CONCLUSION:
Forceful and extensive on-ward participation is recommended for clinical pharmacists in managing critically ill patients. Our experiences highlight the need for special attention toward untreated infections and adverse events related to antiviral agents.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pharmacists
/
Pharmacy Service, Hospital
/
COVID-19
/
Intensive Care Units
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Res Social Adm Pharm
Journal subject:
Pharmacy
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.sapharm.2020.06.005
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