Medication errors in outpatient care in Colombia, 2005-2013.

Introduction: Medication errors outside the hospital have been poorly studied despite representing an important threat to patient safety.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of medication errors in outpatient dispensing pharmacists reported in a pharmaco-surveillance system between 2005 and 2013 in Colombia.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a descriptive study by reviewing and categorizing medication error reports from outpatient pharmacy services to a national medication dispensing company between January, 2005 and September, 2013.

Duodenal tumor presenting as acquired hemophilia in an 88-year-old woman: a clinical case and review of the literature.

Acquired hemophilia is a rare disease, presenting with severe hemorrhage, we present a case caused by a duodenal tumor, the clinical management, ethical implications, treatment recommendations, and a review of the literature.

[Profile of use of anti tumor necrosis factor in Colombian patients].

Introduction: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists (anti-TNFα) have shown an increasing consumption and generate a significant economic burden on health systems.

Objectives: The prescribing patterns of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists were determined in a patient population associated with the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud in Colombia.

Materials And Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted in 316 patients with respect to use of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists during a treatment period from January 2008 to June 2009.

[Prescription patterns for antilipidemic drugs in a group of Colombian patients].

Objectives: To determine patterns in antilipidemic drug prescriptions among a group of patients covered by the General Social Security System (Sistema General de Seguridad Social) in Colombia.

Methods: A descriptive, observational study was conducted of 41 580 hyperlipidemics of both sexes, who were over 20 years of age, undergoing treatment from at least April to June 2006, and were residents of one of 19 cities in Colombia. A database was created to track prescription data collected by the pharmaceutical company that dispenses medications to the patients.

[Effectiveness of treatments for hypertension in a sample of Colombian patients].

Hypertension represents a high health cost because of its prevalence, its low level of diagnosis and control, and its role as a primary risk factor for other cardiovascular diseases. According to the JNC 7 report, hypertensive individuals have blood pressures of 140/90 mm Hg or higher; recommended treatment reduces these values to below 120/80 mm Hg. Co-morbidity and the presence of other risk factors must also be considered.

[Patterns of antihypertensive agents use in 11,947 Colombian patients].

In Colombian populations older than 15 years, 12.6% suffer from hypertensive disease. Pharmacological therapies for hypertension and associated diseases were compared for 11,947 adult hypertensive patients of both sexes.