Pharmacotherapeutic follow-up in a respiratory intensive care unit: description and analysis of results.

OBJECTIVE

To describe and evaluate the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up by a clinical pharmacist in an intensive care unit.

METHODS

A descriptive and cross-sectional study carried out from August to October 2016. The data were collected through a form, and pharmacotherapeutic follow-up conducted by a clinical pharmacist at the respiratory intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital. The problems recorded in the prescriptions were quantified, classified and evaluated according to severity; the recommendations made by the pharmacist were analyzed considering the impact on pharmacotherapy. The medications involved in the problems were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System.

RESULTS

Forty-six patients were followed up and 192 pharmacotherapy-related problems were registered. The most prevalent problems were missing information on the prescription (33.16%), and those with minor severity (37.5%). Of the recommendations made to optimize pharmacotherapy, 92.7% were accepted, particularly those on inclusion of infusion time (16.67%), and dose appropriateness (13.02%), with greater impact on toxicity (53.6%). Antimicrobials, in general, for systemic use were drug class most often related to problems in pharmacotherapy (53%).

CONCLUSION

Pharmacotherapeutic follow-up conducted by a pharmacist in a respiratory intensive care unit was able to detect problems in drug therapy and to make clinically relevant recommendations.