Impact of pharmacist-led interventions in a multidisciplinary consultation meeting for bone and joint infection

Management of bone and joint infections (BJI) requires prolonged and high-dose antibiotic therapy to achieve target concentrations in bone tissue. However, these therapies often lead to adverse effects in patients who are frequently fragile, with multiple comorbidities and associated medications. The decision to treat these complex cases is made during a multidisciplinary team meeting at the reference centre for complex osteoarticular infections (CRIOAC).

Elaborated by a pharmacist during CRIOAC meetings, a single-centre before-and-after comparative study of drug-related issues observed during pharmaceutical interventions (PIs), was conducted. For each patient included, a retrospective case was added. PIs were independently evaluated by a committee of infectiologists and pharmacists to assess their criticality.

Sixty patients were included in the intervention group, with 59 controls. The population was homogeneous, with a median age of 65 years. Most BJI cases were complex (65.5 %), primarily involving prosthetic joint infections. Staphylococcus species were the predominant pathogens. Antibiotic therapy adapted to antibiograms was orally relayed for 74 % of patients, with 5.9 % requiring re-hospitalization due to adverse effects. Sixty-two PIs were performed, representing an average of 1.8 PIs per meeting or 34.4 % of patients. Dosage adjustment accounted for 42 % of PIs, drug interactions for 46 %, and treatment availability in community pharmacies for 8 %. Regarding criticality, three PIs were classified as vital, 22 as major, 22 as moderate, and 15 as minor in both groups, with the same distribution between the intervention and control groups.

This study demonstrates that by collaborating with surgeons and infectiologists, pharmacists participating in CRIOAC meetings can strongly help to prevent drug-related problems in patients with BJIs.