ABSTRACT
Los errores de medicación son cada vez más comunes lo cual pone en peligro la salud de los pacientes, de ahí la importancia de prevenirlos y controlarlos. El concepto de crear una herramienta de decisión clínica que permita gestionar mejor estos eventos no es nuevo. Utilizando una experiencia danesa, decidimos aplicar el algoritmo de MERIS (Medication Risk Score) en un servicio de accidente cerebrovascular de un hospital portugués con el fin de probar su aplicabilidad, determinar volumen de pacientes de riesgo y comprobar cual variable del algoritmo se correlaciona más con paciente de riesgo. Con una muestra de 65 pacientes con sus respectivos reportes MERIS se determinó que durante dos meses más de la mitad de los pacientes admitidos eran de alto riesgo para errores en su medicación. Se seleccionó la prueba de correlación de Spearman para determinar cuál de todas las variables de MERIS estaba más relacionada a un puntaje alto. Encontramos correlaciones positivas fuertes y estadísticamente significativas entre el puntaje de Meris y: función renal reducida, número de fármacos con bajo riesgo de daño, número de fármacos con alto riesgo de daño, número de fármacos, número de fármacos con riesgo medio de daño y número de fármacos con riesgo de interacción bajo a medio, siendo estos últimos tres los más significativos. No hubo una correlación estadísticamente significativa entre el puntaje MERIS y el número de fármacos con alto riesgo de interacción. Finalmente, modificamos la lista de medicamentos propuesta por los autores anteriores adaptada a nuestro hospital. (AU)
Medication errors are gradually more common, risking patients health, hence the importance of preventing and controlling them. The concept of creating a clinical decision tool to better manage these events is not new. Using a Danish experience, we applied the MERIS (Medication Risk Score) algorithm in a stroke unit of a Portuguese hospital in order to test its applicability, determine the volume of patients at risk and check which variable of the algorithm correlates more with patient risk. Using a sample of 65 patients with their respective MERIS reports, we determined that for two months more than half of the admitted patients were at high risk of errors in their medication. The Spearman correlation test was selected to determine which MERIS variable was most related to a high score. We found strong and statistically significant positive correlations between the Meris score and: reduced kidney function, number of drugs with low risk of damage, number of drugs with high risk of damage, number of drugs, number of drugs with medium risk of damage and number of drugs with low to medium risk of interaction, the latter three being the most significant. There was no statistically significant correlation between the MERIS score and the number of drugs with a high risk of interaction. Finally, we modify the list of medications proposed by the previous authors adapted to our hospital. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Medication Errors/prevention & control , Medication Errors/statistics & numerical data , Polypharmacy , Algorithms , Proportional Hazards Models , Risk Assessment/statistics & numerical data , Risk Index , PortugalABSTRACT
WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Biopharmaceuticals are an important class of drugs for the treatment of autoimmune/inflammatory and oncologic diseases. With patent expiries, biotechnological manufacturers can now develop biosimilar drugs. Due to timeliness of introducing new and more complex biosimilars, the Portuguese Association of Hospital Pharmacists gathered to develop a common positioning on the use of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies. MAIN ISSUES: The European pathway to biosimilar approval was developed to improve affordability and access to biological therapies, but it remains a work in progress because unresolved issues remain. Due to the present reality of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies, hospital pharmacists must play an important role in ensuring the safe, effective and cost-effective use of biosimilars in health systems; and educating healthcare administrators, providers, legislators, policymakers, payors and patients about these products. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: The conclusions presented in this work focused on the proposal for optimal biosimilar prescription criteria, the preparation of original biologics and biosimilars in the pharmacy, the management and selection of suppliers, extrapolation issues, the specific role of pharmacovigilance and risk management for the optimal use of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies.
