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Pediatric drug-related problems: a multicenter study in four French-speaking countries

Sonia Prot-Labarthe1, Ermindo R Di Paolo, Annie Lavoie

  • 1Pharmacy Department, APHP, Hôpital Robert Debré, 48, boulevard Sérurier, 75019, Paris, France.

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
|December 25, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Clinical pharmacists in French-speaking pediatric intensive care units identified and resolved numerous drug-related problems. This study highlights their crucial role in improving patient safety and medication management in critical care settings.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric intensive care
  • Clinical pharmacy
  • Drug safety

Background:

  • Pediatric intensive care patients are at high risk for drug-related problems.
  • Limited comparative studies exist on clinical pharmacist activities across countries.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe drug-related problems identified by clinical pharmacists.
  • To document interventions made by pharmacists in pediatric cardiac and intensive care units.

Main Methods:

  • A six-month multicenter, descriptive, prospective study.
  • Data collected from four pediatric centers in France, Quebec, Switzerland, and Belgium.
  • Focused on drug-related problems and clinical interventions in pediatric intensive care patients.

Main Results:

  • 996 interventions were recorded across four centers, targeting 270 patients.
  • Common drug-related problems included administration technique, untreated indications, and supra-therapeutic doses.
  • Pharmacist interventions focused on optimizing administration, dose adjustment, and therapeutic monitoring, with high physician acceptance rates (98%).

Conclusions:

  • Clinical pharmacists effectively identify and resolve drug-related problems in pediatric intensive care units.
  • The study demonstrates the value of clinical pharmacists in French-speaking countries' pediatric critical care.
  • Highlights the collaborative role of pharmacists with clinical staff in medication management.
Abstract

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