Evaluation of the implementation of a clinical pharmacy service on an acute internal medicine ward in Italy.

Background: Successful implementation of clinical pharmacy services is associated with improvement of appropriateness of prescribing. Both high clinical significance of pharmacist interventions and their high acceptance rate mean that potential harm to patients could be avoided. Evidence shows that low acceptance rate of pharmacist interventions can be associated with lack of communication between pharmacists and the rest of the healthcare team.

Evaluation of the adherence to a new potassium chloride storage and handling hospital protocol: an observational study.

The study aim to deal with problem of manage potassium chloride concentrate solution after the introduction of a new protocol on correct use (storage and handling) of these drugs in a high specialization-teaching hospital. The study, conducted from January 2009 to March 2009, was divided in two part: observation of the compliance of concentrated electrolytes solutions storage in 14 wards and prospective observational study on the compliance to the new protocol in the steps of prescription, preparation and administration of these drugs. 49 preparations and administrations of electrolytes solutions were observed.

Errors and omissions in hospital prescriptions: a survey of prescription writing in a hospital.

Background: The frequency of drug prescription errors is high. Excluding errors in decision making, the remaining are mainly due to order ambiguity, non standard nomenclature and writing illegibility. The aim of this study is to analyse, as a part of a continuous quality improvement program, the quality of prescriptions writing for antibiotics, in an Italian University Hospital as a risk factor for prescription errors.

Ocular disorders in users of H2 antagonists and of omeprazole.

We have conducted a cohort study of users of omeprazole and H(2) antagonists in Italy to investigate whether the peroral use of these drugs may be associated with an increased incidence of ocular disorders leading to loss of vision. We have used the Sistema Informativo Sanitario Regionale (SISR database) in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia to identify all subjects who received at least one prescription for cimetidine, famotidine, niperotidine, nizatidine, omeprazole, ranitidine or roxatidine between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1994. We have identified all hospital admissions for serious vascular or inflammatory ocular disorders following any such prescription, reviewed and validated all medical records.

Use of amoxicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and hospitalization for acute liver injury.

Increase of acute liver injury in patients taking amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (co-amoxiclav) as compared to those taking amoxicillin has been suggested. To further investigate the potential hepatotoxicity of the two drugs a historical cohort study was conducted in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. One hundred and eighteen potential cases of acute liver injury were identified through the regional hospital information system and medical records were reviewed for all of them.