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      Impact of pharmacist interventions on drug-related problems and laboratory markers in outpatients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

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          Abstract

          Background

          Substantial complexity has been introduced into treatment regimens for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Many drug-related problems (DRPs) are detected in these patients, such as low adherence, therapeutic inefficacy, and safety issues. We evaluated the impact of pharmacist interventions on CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, HIV viral load, and DRPs in patients with HIV infection.

          Methods

          In this 18-month prospective controlled study, 90 outpatients were selected by convenience sampling from the Hospital Dia–University of Campinas Teaching Hospital (Brazil). Forty-five patients comprised the pharmacist intervention group and 45 the control group; all patients had HIV infection with or without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Pharmaceutical appointments were conducted based on the Pharmacotherapy Workup method, although DRPs and pharmacist intervention classifications were modified for applicability to institutional service limitations and research requirements. Pharmacist interventions were performed immediately after detection of DRPs. The main outcome measures were DRPs, CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, and HIV viral load.

          Results

          After pharmacist intervention, DRPs decreased from 5.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] =4.1–6.2) to 4.2 (95% CI =3.3–5.1) per patient ( P=0.043). A total of 122 pharmacist interventions were proposed, with an average of 2.7 interventions per patient. All the pharmacist interventions were accepted by physicians, and among patients, the interventions were well accepted during the appointments, but compliance with the interventions was not measured. A statistically significant increase in CD4+ T-lymphocyte count in the intervention group was found (260.7 cells/mm 3 [95% CI =175.8–345.6] to 312.0 cells/mm 3 [95% CI =23.5–40.6], P=0.015), which was not observed in the control group. There was no statistical difference between the groups regarding HIV viral load.

          Conclusion

          This study suggests that pharmacist interventions in patients with HIV infection can cause an increase in CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts and a decrease in DRPs, demonstrating the importance of an optimal pharmaceutical care plan.

          Most cited references40

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          US pharmacists' effect as team members on patient care: systematic review and meta-analyses.

          One approach postulated to improve the provision of health care is effective utilization of team-based care including pharmacists. The objective of this study was to conduct a comprehensive systematic review with focused meta-analyses to examine the effects of pharmacist-provided direct patient care on therapeutic, safety, and humanistic outcomes. The following databases were searched from inception to January 2009: NLM PubMed; Ovid/MEDLINE; ABI/INFORM; Health Business Fulltext Elite; Academic Search Complete; International Pharmaceutical Abstracts; PsycINFO; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; National Guideline Clearinghouse; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects; ClinicalTrials.gov; LexisNexis Academic Universe; and Google Scholar. Studies selected included those reporting pharmacist-provided care, comparison groups, and patient-related outcomes. Of these, 56,573 citations were considered. Data were extracted by multidisciplinary study review teams. Variables examined included study characteristics, pharmacists' interventions/services, patient characteristics, and study outcomes. Data for meta-analyses were extracted from randomized controlled trials meeting meta-analysis criteria. A total of 298 studies were included. Favorable results were found in therapeutic and safety outcomes, and meta-analyses conducted for hemoglobin A1c, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and adverse drug events were significant (P < 0.05), favoring pharmacists' direct patient care over comparative services. Results for humanistic outcomes were favorable with variability. Medication adherence, patient knowledge, and quality of life-general health meta-analyses were significant (P < 0.05), favoring pharmacists' direct patient care. Pharmacist-provided direct patient care has favorable effects across various patient outcomes, health care settings, and disease states. Incorporating pharmacists as health care team members in direct patient care is a viable solution to help improve US health care.
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            Clinical pharmacists and inpatient medical care: a systematic review.

            The role of clinical pharmacists in the care of hospitalized patients has evolved over time, with increased emphasis on collaborative care and patient interaction. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the published literature on the effects of interventions by clinical pharmacists on processes and outcomes of care in hospitalized adults. Peer-reviewed, English-language articles were identified from January 1, 1985, through April 30, 2005. Three independent assessors evaluated 343 citations. Inpatient pharmacist interventions were selected if they included a control group and objective patient-specific health outcomes; type of intervention, study design, and outcomes such as adverse drug events, medication appropriateness, and resource use were abstracted. Thirty-six studies met inclusion criteria, including 10 evaluating pharmacists' participation on rounds, 11 medication reconciliation studies, and 15 on drug-specific pharmacist services. Adverse drug events, adverse drug reactions, or medication errors were reduced in 7 of 12 trials that included these outcomes. Medication adherence, knowledge, and appropriateness improved in 7 of 11 studies, while there was shortened hospital length of stay in 9 of 17 trials. No intervention led to worse clinical outcomes and only 1 reported higher health care use. Improvements in both inpatient and outpatient outcome measurements were observed. The addition of clinical pharmacist services in the care of inpatients generally resulted in improved care, with no evidence of harm. Interacting with the health care team on patient rounds, interviewing patients, reconciling medications, and providing patient discharge counseling and follow-up all resulted in improved outcomes. Future studies should include multiple sites, larger sample sizes, reproducible interventions, and identification of patient-specific factors that lead to improved outcomes.
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              Drug-related problems: their structure and function.

              In order to better focus the role of the pharmacist on patient need and patient outcome, a means of categorizing drug-related problems (DRPs) is presented. A DRP exists when a patient experiences or is likely to experience either a disease or symptom having an actual or suspected relationship with drug therapy. Eight different categories of DRPs are described and examples of each category are offered. This categorization serves a number of functions, such as: (1) to illustrate how adverse drug reactions form but one category of extant DRPs, (2) to make tangible the pharmacist's role for the future, (3) to serve as a focus for developing a systematic process whereby the pharmacist contributes significantly to the overall positive outcome of patients, (4) to bring to pharmacy practice a vocabulary consistent with that of other healthcare professionals, and (5) to aid in the development of standards of practice for pharmacists.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Ther Clin Risk Manag
                Ther Clin Risk Manag
                Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management
                Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management
                Dove Medical Press
                1176-6336
                1178-203X
                2014
                07 August 2014
                : 10
                : 631-639
                Affiliations
                Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM), University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil
                Author notes
                Correspondence: Priscila Gava Mazzola, Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (FCM – Unicamp), Rua Tessália Vieira de Camargo, 126, Campinas, São Paulo 13083-970, Brazil, Tel +55 19 3521 8884, Fax +55 19 3521 9434, Email pmazzola@ 123456fcm.unicamp.br
                Article
                tcrm-10-631
                10.2147/TCRM.S61821
                4130328
                25120369
                e96bb69e-b18f-4fd8-9bf9-6f7ebe990e1d
                © 2014 Molino et al. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License

                The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.

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                Original Research

                Medicine
                pharmaceutical care,hiv,clinical pharmacy,cd4+ t lymphocyte count,aids,pharmacy service
                Medicine
                pharmaceutical care, hiv, clinical pharmacy, cd4+ t lymphocyte count, aids, pharmacy service

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