Background: Medication discrepancies, defined as unexplained variations among drug regimens at care transitions, are common. Some are unintended and cause reconciliation errors that are potentially detrimental for patients. Objective: To determine the prevalence of medication discrepancies and reconciliation errors at admission and discharge in hospitalized patients and explore risk factors for reconciliation errors and their potential clinical impact. Methods: An observational prospective study was conducted at a general teaching hospital. Patients who were admitted to the internal medicine service and were receiving chronic preadmission treatment were included in the study. Preadmission treatment was compared with the treatment prescribed on admission (first 48 hours) and at hospital discharge, and discrepancies and reconciliation errors were identified. The primary endpoint was the presence of reconciliation errors at admission and/or discharge. Potential risk factors (patient-, medication-, and system-related) for reconciliation errors were analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Of the 120 patients enrolled in the study between April and August 2009, 109 (90.8%) showed 513 discrepancies. The prevalence of patients with reconciliation errors was 20.8% (95% CI 13.6 to 28.1). Intended medication discrepancies were more frequent at admission (96.6%) than at discharge (75.5%), while reconciliation errors were more frequent at discharge (24.5%) than at admission (3.4%). The prevalence ratio (admission vs discharge) was 2.4 (95% CI 1.9 to 3.0) for discrepancies and 0.65 (95% CI 0.32 to 1.32) for reconciliation errors. The logistic regression analysis revealed an association between the number of discrepancies at admission (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.44) and age (OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.10) and an increased risk of reconciliation errors. Conclusions: Medication reconciliation strategies should focus primarily on avoiding errors at discharge. Since medication discrepancies at admission may predispose patients to reconciliation errors, early detection of such discrepancies would logically reduce the risk of reconciliation errors. Medication reconciliation programs must implement a process for gathering accurate preadmission drug histories and must submit this information to a critical assessment of patients' needs.
The treatment of psoriasis has been revolutionized by the emergence of biological therapies. Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) generally have complex pharmacokinetic (PK) properties with nonlinear distribution and elimination. In recent years, several population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models capable of describing different types of mAb have been published. This study aims to summarize the findings of a literature search about population PK/PD modeling and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of mAb in psoriasis. A total of 22 articles corresponding to population PK/PD models of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors (adalimumab and golimumab), interleukin (IL)-23 inhibitors (guselkumab, tildrakizumab, and risankizumab), IL-23/IL-12 inhibitor (ustekinumab), and IL-17 inhibitors (secukinumab, ixekizumab, and brodalumab) were collected. A summary of the clinical trials conducted so far in psoriasis was included, together with the current structural population PK and PD models. The most significant and clinical covariates were body weight (BW) and the presence of immunogenicity on clearance (CL). The lack of consensus on PK/PD relationships has prevented establishing an adequate dosage and, therefore, accentuates the need for TDM in psoriasis.
30 December 2016 in Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology
To compare the quality of two pharmaceutical care models (with and without pharmacist participation in the clinical team), in hospitalised onco-haematological patients. A prospective cohort study in the oncology and haematology departments of a university hospital over a 26-month period. A centralised model (model C) was used over 16 months and a decentralised integration model (model D) was used during the remaining 10 months. The Iaser (c) methodology was used to identify candidates for improved drug treatment and for the follow up of patients with drug-related problems (DRP). The results obtained were compared using a series of pharmaceutical care quality indicators. The rate of patients identified with DRP increased significantly (RR = 2.3; CI 95%: 1.8-2.8), as did the frequency of DRP (RR = 3.4; CI 95%: 2.8-4.0), in particular the frequency of preventable DRP (RR = 3.8; CI 95%: 2.5-4.2). The identification of the type of DRP relating to indication significantly increased (RR = 4.5; CI 95%: 3.4-5.8), followed by DRP relating to efficacy and safety. The acceptance of pharmaceutical care interventions did not improve proportionally (RR = 1.0; CI 95%: 0.9-1.1), although there was a significant increase in practices with clinical importance (RR = 4.1; CI 95%: 3.3-5.0), that showed an objective or subjective decrease in the risk of drug-related morbidity in patients (RR = 4.1; CI 95%: 3.1-5.4). Pharmacist participation in the interprofessional team improved the quality of pharmaceutical care, in particular with respect to the increased identification of possibilities to improve drug treatment and clinically significant pharmaceutical practices. As a result, the risk of drug-related morbidity can be reduced in patients.