Economic impact of the clinical pharmacist interventions in the pediatric intensive care unit

Clinical pharmacists in intensive care units are involved in patient safety, technical guidance and cost saving with rational use of medicines. This study aimed to estimate the cost saving of clinical pharmacist interventions in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). This was a retrospective, observational study. Savings were measured for three months based on (1) Clinical pharmacist interventions from prescription analysis, (2) Individualized doses of four antibiotics, (3) Comparison of drugs dispensing systems before and after the decentralization of pharmacy services. The main outcome is costs saving with strategic planning of medication use based on local reality. A number of 73 clinical pharmacist interventions were made, from which 13 allowed the calculation of economic impact, saving US$ 633.38/year. Cost saving from individualized doses of four antibiotics was US$ 8,754.46/year. The decentralization of pharmacy services saved US$ 28,770.52/year. The evaluated interventions were successful. Clinical pharmacist interventions, individualized antimicrobials doses and decentralization of pharmacy services reduce costs in the hospital.

Reconciliação de medicamentos: processo de implantação em um complexo hospitalar com a utilização de sistema eletrônico / Medication reconciliation: implantation process in a hospital complex with the use of electronic system

RESUMO Este estudo avaliou a implantação da reconciliação de medicamentos em um hospital multibloco, filantrópico e de ensino com a utilização de um sistema eletrônico para realizar o registro da atividade com atuação multiprofissional. Foram capacitados 438 profissionais da enfermagem sobre a reconciliação de medicamentos. De outubro de 2017 a março de 2018, foram registradas pelo enfermeiro, no prontuário eletrônico, a informação sobre uso prévio de medicamentos para 1.379 pacientes. Foram reconciliados pelo farmacêutico apenas 347 destes registros, sendo que 106 precisaram de intervenção com médico prescritor. O número de pacientes que tiveram o medicamento informado como de uso prévio prescrito sem nenhuma alteração foi de 180, os que tiveram o medicamento prescrito com alguma alteração foram 47, e os que não possuíam os medicamentos informados prescritos foram 106. A utilização de sistemas informatizados pode ser útil para as equipes executarem a reconciliação medicamentosa, mas depende da correta utilização do sistema e treinamento das equipes. O acompanhamento diário do farmacêutico clínico aumenta a segurança do paciente quanto ao uso de medicamentos dentro dos hospitais, entretanto, para executar a atividade, é necessário realizar algumas medidas de melhoria para obter o cumprimento da reconciliação de medicamentos dos pacientes na sua totalidade.

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the implementation of medication reconciliation in a philanthropic, teaching, and multi-block hospital with the use of an electronic system to record the multidisciplinary activity. A total of 438 nursing professionals were trained on medication reconciliation. From October 2017 to March 2018, the information about previous use of drugs for 1,379 patients was registered by the nurse in the electronic system. Only 347 of those records were reconciled by the pharmacist, and 106 needed intervention of the prescribing doctor. The number of patients who had the medication prescribed without any change was 180, 47 had the medication prescribed with some change, and 106 did not have the prescribed the medications of previous use. The use of computerized systems can be useful for the teams to perform medication reconciliation, but it depends on the correct use of the system and training of the teams. The daily follow-up of the clinical pharmacist increases patient safety regarding the use of drugs within the hospitals, but to perform the activity some improvement measures are necessary to obtain compliance with the patients' medication reconciliation in their entirety.

Tranexamic acid in adenotonsillectomy in children: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Adenotonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures in pediatric otolaryngology, in which bleeding is a potential complication. We evaluated the efficacy of intravenous tranexamic acid in reducing intraoperative bleeding volume, and bleeding in the following 10 postoperative days in children who underwent adenotonsillectomy. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Tertiary hospital. PATIENTS: Ninety-five children of both sexes between four and twelve years old who underwent adenotonsillectomy due to adenotonsillar hyperplasia. INTERVENTIONS: Intravenous tranexamic acid in the preoperative and at the eighth and the sixteenth hours of the postoperative periods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Bleeding volume was measured in milliliters (mL) at the end of the procedure, and bleeding events were registered in the following 10 postoperative days. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant reduction in bleeding volume with the use of tranexamic acid (mean ± standard deviation, 135.13 ± 71.44 [tranexamic acid] versus 158.21 ± 88.09 [placebo]; P=0.195). No difference was observed in the incidence of postoperative bleeding in the 10 postoperative days, but the sample size is insufficient to exclude a type 2 error. CONCLUSIONS: There is no benefit in the use of tranexamic acid for reducing bleeding during the transoperative period of adenotonsillectomy in children. More studies with a greater sample are required to evaluate the benefit of tranexamic acid in postoperative bleeding.

Topical clindamycin in post-adenotonsillectomy analgesia in children: a double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Tonsillectomy, with or without adenoidectomy, is one of the most common surgical procedures in pediatric otolaryngology. Pain is the main cause of morbidity in the postoperative period, where it is serious in some cases, leading to odynophagia and resultant complications such as dehydration. We evaluated the effect of topical clindamycin in the reduction of oropharyngeal pain in children who underwent adenotonsillectomy. Secondary outcomes were otalgia, analgesic use, oral bacterial count, type of diet, secondary bleeding, vomiting, fever, and weight loss. STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Tertiary hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Eighty-two children of both sexes between four and 12 years of age who underwent adenotonsillectomy were allocated to receive topical clindamycin or placebo in the immediate preoperative, intraoperative, and eight-to-12-hours postoperative periods. Pain was measured using a faces pain scale for five days. RESULTS: Reduction of oropharyngeal pain was significant with the use of clindamycin only on the first postoperative day (95% confidence interval, 2.22 to 4.41 [clindamycin] vs 4.53 to 6.3 [placebo]; P = .002). No difference was observed in the aerobic and anaerobic counts by tongue swab between premedication and third-postoperative-day samplings. There were no differences with respect to reduction in otalgia, paracetamol use, return to normal diet, variation in weight, secondary hemorrhage, vomiting, and fever. CONCLUSION: The use of topical clindamycin was beneficial in reducing pain on the first postoperative day, without effect on subsequent days. Future investigations could examine the use of topical clindamycin not only in the first 12 hours but also during five days of follow-up.